Washed Away with the Rain
by Anya Anthony
Summary: With deaths of her mother and little sister and her father's abandonment, Hinamori Amu has decided that love and affection is something she doesn't want. So why is it that she finds her heart slowly changing? AMUTO
1. Prologue

**Hey guys, it's Anya! Okay, so I got this idea from a short story that Shelly Cullen had written to an extra to her story The Kidnapper. I got the idea of having these two certain characters (You can probably tell whom) meeting in the rain when they were younger and having the girl hate the rain and then come to love the rain. So all creative rights of this one part of the story goes to Shelly Cullen (be sure to check out her fanfics, they're interesting!). So I hope you enjoy my story, and please R&R! ^__^**

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Prologue

I sat there pouting. The rain was beating hard on the sidewalk. I hated the rain. It would get my hair, clothes, and even my socks all wet and disgruntled. As though the rain was not enough, my mother was giving birth to my little sister just as we spoke. Since I was only six, the hospital deemed me as too young to stay with my mother as she gave birth. My father wanted to stay with her, so I was all by myself. I could have waited inside, but there was a child crying and the entire waiting room smelt like old people. Therefore, I took my chances with the rain.

I sat near the hospital entrance on the right-most side of a bench. There was an overhang that was spread out among the front part of the hospital, but that still did not change the outdoors. The rain was pouring and it smelt of sea salt. Yuck.

"What's wrong with you?" A boy who was a bit older than me stood next to the spot on the bench where I was sitting. His left elbow rested on the back of the bench, giving him a cool appearance. The boy had navy blue hair and sapphire eyes. He wore a faded khaki trench coat and black jeans and on his feet was a pair of black sneakers. His attire also added on to his cool factor.

I looked up at him with the same pouty face I had on before. "It's raining."

The boy chuckled and said, "Really? Is that it?"

I frowned at him, now I was very angry towards him. "I hate rain!" I tried explaining to him in my bitter way. I looked away from him and closed my eyes like a complete brat.

"Kids these days…" He sighed.

I looked back up at him and pointed out, "You're a kid, too!"

"I'm eleven; I'm less of a kid than you are." The boy explained his position.

"So you're five years older than me, big whoop!" I said, throwing in a phrase at the end that I heard from a sitcom on the television.

He leaned down so that he was only inches away from my face. He had a seductive smile on his face –well, at least as seductive a smile from an eleven year old could get—as he looked into my eyes. "So you really hate rain, eh?"

I could feel my little six year old cheeks blushing. I replied, "O-of course! Rain is icky!"

He gave me a different smile, a friendlier and mischievous smile. His left arm shot down and grabbed my hand. He ran, dragging me along with him. We were exposed to the rain; nothing was above us to keep up us warm and dry. I could slowly feel my hair, clothes, and even my socks become all wet and disgruntled by the falling water.

"Rain is part of nature! You have to enjoy it!" He told me as we stood there in the rain.

My eyes were swelling up with tears. First rain, then mom and dad diverted all of their attention away from me, then my little sister was coming into this world, and now this boy was dragging me into the rain. I let my tears spill, and I wailed like a baby as they flowed uncontrollably.

"Okay, okay, I get it." He said soothingly. He took of his trench coat and placed it over my head so that the rain would not get me anymore wet than I already was. "Come on, Munchkin."

The boy led me back so that we were underneath the overhang. He was now soaking wet, even more so than I was. He crouched down so that he was even with my height and looked at me with a longing look in his eyes.

"You're not very cute when you cry." The boy informed me.

I was still hiccupping and tears were streaming from my eyes, no matter how hard I tried to stop them. I sniffed multiple times to stop snot from dripping from my nose, and I continuously tried to stop the tears from falling. The boy looked sad as well. Since I was young, I could not understand why he looked so filled with sorrow. Heck, even now I still have no idea what his sorrows were. The tears gradually stopped flowing, but my eyes were still filled with water.

The boy gave a soft smile and said, "You probably look a lot cuter when you smile. But ever since I first saw you, you haven't smiled once." He leaned forward gave me a small kiss on my forehead. I could feel my cheeks blushing once more as I looked up at him. He looked into my eyes and asked, "Before I leave, will you at least give me one sincere smile?"

I looked at him in confusion. "What does sincere mean?"

He chuckled and said, "It means that you're using your true feelings."

"Oh…" I looked down for awhile, trying to remember the word "sincere." I looked back up at him and gave him what was probably the warmest, most _sincere_ smile of my entire life.

"Thanks, Munchkin…" As he spoke I could feel the sorrow in his voice and the same feeling was expressed in his smile. "Farewell."

The boy walked back into the hospital. Realizing that I still had his trench coat on top of my head, I ran back inside to try and catch up with him. However, when I went inside he was nowhere to be found.

That day, rainy days became my favorite. However, as I gained a new joy in my life, the tragedies only continued to increase. For as I was making a new friend, a tragedy itself was already beginning to take its course.


	2. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, it's Anya! I'm glad so many people have been reviewing and favoriting this story! ^__^  
It's awesome to know that I can have so much fun writing and then entertain others in the process. Any who, this story is pretty serious/sad so I don't really want to try to make jokes and all in those weird chat things before I start my stories. But this story is for entertainment, and I practically eat this stuff up like a kitten eats tuna, so I hope that you guys all enjoy it. Also, I got a tad teary eyed when writing this (not crying, but I thought it was sad) and I hope that it touches you the way that it touched me (hehe... I wrote it, too... .). So enjoy!**

***WARNING*  
Chapter contains mild language. Nothing too extreme, just the b word and the d word (I believe that's it). Enjoy!**

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Chapter One

"Amu-san, it's time to wake up." My foster mother told me coldly, she closed the door and left without another word.

I arose from my unsatisfying sleep. My pink hair was completely unkempt and my eyes, which were the color of honey, were looking unnaturally dull that morning. I got up and changed into my school uniform. I had to wear a black blazer, a pink tie, a pink plaid skirt, and a pair of black dress shoes to school. Trying to fit the personality I designed for myself years ago, I spiced up my uniform a bit. My shirt was always untucked and my blazer was never buttoned up. I also wore a single-row studded belt diagonally across my waist and a black belt beneath my studded belt that rested on my waist normally; both belts were worn over my skirt and shirt so that they would show. I also wore a pair of pink plaid leggings that matched my skirt and were worn so that they were bunched up over my shoes. The last thing I did was pin a pink armband around my right bicep and over my blazer, it made my uniform look a lot different and made me look a lot more creative.

I went over to the mirror in my room and brushed out my tangled hair. To change my plain and boring style I grabbed a piece of my hair that was on the top right side and pulled it into a ponytail which I clipped with a pink X-shaped clip. Everything else stayed the same as it always did.

I flipped open my black cell phone and opened up the weather application I downloaded when I first bought it. It said that today would be seven degrees Celsius, and as for the forecast… My heart almost skipped a beat when I saw the picture. The picture had a little gray cloud with water drops falling below it. That's right; today it was going to rain!

Without another thought, I grabbed my clear umbrella and shoved it into my backpack. I almost ran out the door when I realized that I had completely forgotten something. Once again I flipped open my phone and went to the calendar application I downloaded almost first thing when I received my phone. It said that today was April 14th. In other words, it was the anniversary of that day.

"Amu-san," My foster mother yelled up at me from downstairs. "Get your butt down here! I don't have all damned day!"

"Hai," I called down the stairs.

I never really seemed to understand why my foster mother was so bitter. My foster mother, Fujibayashi Ryuu, was a middle-aged woman in her early fifties. She had pale brown hair that was always put up in a bun and dark brown eyes. Her forehead was slightly wrinkled from always having an angry expression, and her cheeks had slightly caved in due to old age.

"Bye-bye, Ami, Mama," I wasn't talking to my real family. I was speaking to a photograph. The photograph was from a little over seven years ago. In it was me back when I was six years old, when I still had my hair up in small pigtails. My mother was also in it, at the time of the photograph she had been pregnant with my little sister, whom we decided to call Ami. At the time of the photograph, my father had also been included. He was still in the photograph; however, I had placed a sticker of a bunny head over his face.

"Amu!" My foster mother screamed again.

"I'm coming!" I took one last sorrowful look at the photograph and ran downstairs to my foster mother who was still in an angry mood.

My mother and little sister died exactly seven years ago. Seven years ago was the same day that my sister, Ami, was supposed to be brought into this world. On that day, both the lives of my little sister and my mother were taken. I missed them dearly, and I wish that they both could have made it through in the end.

Of course, my father was still alive. At least, he was _technically_ alive. To me, my father was no better than a dead person. When my mother and little sister died, my father practically broke down. I can remember it like it was yesterday…

_"Papa, are you okay?" My father had just come home late from work. I had heard the door open, so I came out of my room and stood at the top of the stairs to greet him like my mother used to do. He was staggering back and forth as he walked up the stairs, and his words were slurred around._

_My father bent over and put his hands on my shoulders. He looked into my eyes and raised his voice so it was just beneath yelling, "Give them back! Give my wife and my daughter back! You…"_

_"Papa, what's wrong?" I was both scared and confused._

_He began shaking me back and forth, and his grip on my shoulders became tighter and tighter. "Give them back, you bitch! Give them back!" He was now yelling, and my heart leapt in fear as each word was spewed from his mouth._

_"Papa, it hurts!" I could feel my eyes filling up with tears as he shook me back and forth. I tried so hard not to cry, but I could not help but let out a few whimpers here and there. "Papa, please stop! Papa, why are you acting like this?"_

_My father stopped shaking me and he looked into my eyes. His stare was filled with anger and loneliness. His arms began to shake and his eyes filled up with tears. He gripped my shoulders tightly again and he yelled, "You're not Midori! You're not Ami! Give them back!"_

_"Papa!" That was the last thing I could let out before my father thrust me down the stairs. I tumbled and tumbled, it felt as though it would never end. I slammed against the wall near the bottom of the stairs. This is when I let it out. Tears streamed out of my eyes and I continued hiccupping and whining. "Papa… I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" I cried out. I hoped that if he heard my apology he would stop._

_"Shut up!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, making my heart want to jump out of my chest. "Shut up you bitch!"_

_My father charged down the stairs. I had never seen him so angry before. In fact, I had never seen him angry before. My father was the carefree, do-whatever-you-want parent. My mother was the only one who got angry, and even then she never got angry, only frustrated. I was so confused. I had no idea why my father was acting so abusive, and I just wanted him to get better. Nothing was making sense to me._

_My entire body was sore from my fall, though nothing seemed to be broken. My father was screaming and yelling curse words as he came up to me. He began to kick me as I lied there weeping._

_"I want Midori! I want Ami! Where are they? I want my wife back! I want my daughter back!" He screamed at the top of his lungs._

_"Papa," I screamed at him, trying to make him listen. I had no idea what my father had been acting the way he had, all I knew was that I wanted him to be the father that I knew and loved. "I'm your daughter! I'm right here! Stop it, Papa!"_

_There was a large banging on the front door. It was our neighbor, Kawashima-san, and she did not sound happy at all. "Hinamori-san," She yelled. "What are you doing in there? Why are you and Amu-chan screaming?"_

_I realized that my father was going to stay crazy unless he got help. I figured the only way to help him was to use an outside source. "Help, Papa is—"_

_"Shut up!" Papa screamed, giving me one last kick._

_I heard a crack. This time I screamed at the top of my lungs. It hurt so much, the pain continued to flow and the tears wouldn't stop flowing. All I could remember was the door breaking in and then the husband of Kawashima-san ran in and tackled my father. Kawashima-san had been trying to talk to me, but my consciousness was slowly fading away. All I could hear was muffles and screams._

It turned out that I was hurt worse than I had thought. My left leg and right arm were both broken, and I was bruised all over. I also had a minor concussion in my head from slamming against the wall after I fell down the stairs. I was in the hospital for a long time, and once I was able to leave, the admitted me into a foster home. That's when I began living with Fujibayashi Ryuu, my foster mother.

Growing up was hell, and I was always being lectured about how much of a disgrace I was as a young lady. However, no matter how many times I was lectured, I was never once hit. My foster mother absolutely refused to abusively lay a finger on me. Sometimes she would grab me and drag me along with her, but she never put anything greater than a small sore on me.

"I swear," My foster mother began her morning lecture. "The way you get ready is slower than a snail with a brain injury."

"Sorry, Ryuu-san," My foster mother preferred that I called her Ryuu-san, and nothing else. I didn't mind calling her Ryuu-san; it was a lot better than being forced to call her Mother or Mama.

"Saying sorry won't make up for your slowness this morning." Ryuu-san continued her lecture, which despite the fact that most people would find it irritating, I found it comforting. Ryuu-san only lectured me because she cared, and the feeling that she cared made me feel like I was actually wanted in the world for once.

Although I knew that I had to leave that behind. Love and affection were two things that I promised to never show again. When my father broke down seven years ago, I realized something important. It may have taken me awhile to realize it, but I eventually realized that the human heart was so easy to break. Things like love and affection were so easily broken down. The bonds which we found to be so strong could be dissolved with something as simple as a death or, like my father as I found out later on, alcohol. While the bonds are made we find ourselves so happy, but once these bonds are broken insane sadness will captivate the people involved.

"Ryuu-san," I found myself speaking in an apathetic way ever since the incident with my father. I thought that if I had an apathetic attitude and acted indifferent to everything, then I wouldn't have to worry about making those weak bonds with others. "I have to run an errand after school, so I may be home late, okay?"

As strict as Ryuu-san was, she never really got involved with me. She always told me that I should become an independent woman and stand on my own two feet. According to Ryuu-san, I was thirteen already, so I should be learning how to fend for myself.

"Try to make it back before dark," Ryuu-san told me. "I don't want you running into weird perverts on your way home."

"Thank you, Ryuu-san."

Today was the seven year anniversary. I planned on making two stops today after school. My first stop would be my mother's grave and Ami's grave. Afterwards I would go to _that_ spot, the spot where it all began.


	3. Chapter 2

**Hey guys, it's Anya! Okay, so I've been really weird with my chapters. I really love this story line, and ideas keep on flowing out of my mind. I was thinking about holding this chapter for like, a few days and then releasing it, but I was too excited about it to hold back. So I think once I stop getting so crazy about this story(which should probably happen by the next chapter or two), I'll do weekly releases on like every Saturday or Sunday or something. I'm not sure.  
Any who, I wanted to say this just as a way to clear my guilty conscience. Amu isn't exactly the same person she is in the anime/manga. Due to her life events and such, her personality was warped. Life events tend to change your personality, so that's why Amu may seem different in my fanfiction than she is in the anime. But I'm trying to keep all other personalities 100% the same (Amu's dad's personality was a huge stretch... hehe... .). Ikuto's will be hard, but I'm sure I'll get through it. X3**

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Chapter Two

"Mama… Ami…" I looked down at their graves. Tears formed at the corners of my eyes. Even after seven years of dealing with their deaths, I had never truly gotten over them. "I hope you two are together in heaven…" I felt the two single tears stream down my face. I never cried. I only allowed myself to spill two tears once a year on April 14th. I crouched down so I was at a similar level with their graves. "I'm still living with Ryuu-san. Things are going well, I guess. I still don't have any friends and I still haven't seen Papa." I said the same thing every year. The words may change around, but the meaning was always the same. "I'm sorry…" My last words were the same every year. I always ended my visit with an apology. I always felt like living was something that I shouldn't be allowed to do.

I took out my handkerchief and patted my face down in the places where the two tears had streamed down my cheeks. I pressed the handkerchief against my closed eyes; I could feel the cloth absorb the extra tears that may have fallen if I hadn't used my handkerchief. I almost never used my handkerchief, but I still had it in my backpack whenever I went to school. Ryuu-san told me often that every young lady should have a handkerchief at all times. I'm not sure why I listened to Ryuu-san when she told me these things, but I always made sure to follow everything that she said.

I left the graveyard without another hesitation. God knows what would happen if I stayed any longer. Besides, it was going to rain very soon. It sprinkled a little during the day, but the true rain was to come. I had to hurry and get to my destination before it truly started to pour. If it was going to pour, then I at least wanted to be at my destination. It would be the perfect day if it rained. Rain was the only thing could ever move my heart.

It did not take long before I was there. It had started to drizzle, so I opened up my umbrella and walked beneath it. When I arrived there, it looked like the scene was completely untouched. Exactly seven years ago, this spot looked exactly the same.

I was here, at the hospital where both the happiest and saddest moments of my life were spent. This was the spot where I met both the first and the last boy I ever "loved." I tried not to hold on to silly things like this, but I feared that if I let go of the bond with my mother and I, my sister and I, and the mysterious boy and I, my entire life would be enshrouded in unhappiness. Humans are made to dream, and my dream was something that I never wanted to achieve. I wanted my dream to remain a dream. My dream was to have my mother, Ami, that mysterious boy, and even my father in my life again. To have the picture perfect life was my dream. However, I knew that this would never come true, so I stuck to dreaming. Even those who let everything go have dreams of what they know they cannot have.

I sat on the bench near the entrance of the hospital on the right-most side. I looked out at the scenery in front of me; it looked exactly the same as it did seven years ago. My heart yearned to go back to that moment; I would do anything. If my mother and Ami had not died… if only they were alive right now maybe my life would be different.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I flipped it open; there was an e-mail from Ryuu-san. Despite Ryuu-san's age, she was pretty up-to-date on technology. She also liked to send e-mails instead of calling me. Ryuu-san said that if there is a convenient and easy way to do things then we should obviously use them, that being the only reason I even had a cell phone.

_"I'll be home late tonight, be sure to leave the key under the mat."_

Ryuu-san was always busy; therefore she came home late often. We only had one key, and he put it underneath the doormat. When I came home I would unlock the door and take the key inside with me, then I would put it back underneath the mat when I left. However, when Ryuu-san came home late, I would leave the key underneath the doormat and she would take it in and then put it out in the morning.

I stared back out at the rain. I felt a large connection between me now and me from the past as I sat there and looked out at the rain, except there was one huge difference between now and the past. Okay, I suppose that there were three large differences. The first difference was that I was older and wiser than I was back then. The second difference was that back then I had a family, and now all I had was Ryuu-san. The third difference, well…

"What's wrong with you?" My heart almost skipped a beat as I heard this inquiry. I looked to my right and sure enough, a man about eighteen years old was standing there with his left elbow resting on the back of the bench. He had navy blue hair and beautiful sapphire eyes. He was wearing a tan trench coat and a pair of blue jeans and on his feet were a pair of black sneakers. He looked extremely cool.

I blinked. No way could this be real, my mind was playing tricks on me. I refused to believe that the same exact person from the past was standing there, reenacting the scene from seven years ago. However, despite my disbelief I played along. "It's raining." I looked up at him as I spoke.

He chuckled at me, "Really, is that it?"

"I hate rain." I spoke the same line as before, except my voice was filled with sorrow. The illusion was so realistic that it was unbelievable. I looked away from him just as I did before.

He sighed, saying, "Kids these days…"

I looked back up at him just the way I did when I was little, except my expression was probably a lot different from before. "You're a kid, too."

"I'm eighteen," He stated. "I'm way less of a kid than you are."

"So you're five years older than me, big whoop…" My eyes were starting to feel heavy, and my nose was tingling as I spoke.

Just like before, he leaned down so that he was only inches away from my face. He had a seductive look in his eyes –much more seductive than before—and he looked into my eyes. "So you really hate rain, eh?"

I felt a light blush come to my cheeks. It was not as heavy as seven years ago, but it was still there. "O-of course…" I tried not to let my voice break. "Rain is icky…"

A mischievous smile, the same one as before, spread across his face. His left arm shot down and grabbed my hand. He ran, dragging me along behind him. He ran until we were exposed to the rain. Our hair, clothes, and even our socks were becoming all wet and disgruntled from the pouring water.

"Rain is a part of nature. You have to enjoy it." He spoke the same words as before, except this time they sounded like they were a lot calmer and philosophical.

I stood there looking down at the ground. I knew what was supposed to happen next. I just could not bring myself to play it out. My heart feared that if the same thing happened, I would experience the pain all over again. My mother and Ami dying, my father breaking down, and going to the same hospital where my mother died for treatments, I never wanted to experience that again.

"This is the part where you cry, and I take you back under the overhang." He told me.

My heart knew that this wasn't real. No matter the person, no one would ever remember something this insignificant from seven years ago. I was surprised that I even remembered this, for I wanted to let go of it so badly.

I forced the words to come out. Each word came out shakier than the last, "So… is it okay? Is it okay to not hold it back anymore?" No matter how many times I told myself no, no matter how many times I told myself that that it was not okay, I still wanted reassurance from someone else. I knew that someone else would tell me yes, and that it was okay. Yet for some reason, that was the last thing I wanted to ask, but it was the first thing my heart wanted to know.

He looked confused at my question, but he seemed to have somewhat of an understanding of what I was asking. "Yeah, it's okay."

I looked over at him; he was still holding my hand. Images in my mind continuously flashed back and forth between the man standing in front of me now and the little boy who made me so happy seven years ago. The resemblance was so close; I knew that this was a dream. Since it was a dream, I realized that yes, it was okay.

Right before my tears spilled, I threw my arms around him. The moment that he was tight in my grasp I let it out, the tears that had piled up for seven years. He was about a head taller than me, so my face was pressed against his chest. I didn't mind, I buried my face into his chest and cried as hard as I could. For I knew that when I woke up, I would not be allowed to cry again, because the answer would be no, it's not okay.

He stroked the back of my head reassuringly and patted my back. I was crying like a complete baby. I was wailing and hot tears refused to stop pouring. People walking in and out of the hospital stopped to stare, but none of them stayed longer than a few seconds. I could feel their eyes burning in to me, but I didn't care. For I know this was a dream, and I knew that I would wake up soon.


	4. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, it's Anya! I'm glad so many people like my fanfiction! I got a lot of reviews after posting up Chapter Two, so I got inspired to write Chapter Three. Chapter Four might take awhile, though, because I'm not too sure where I want to go with this. I'm pretty sure I know what's going to happen next, but whether or not I'll make this a long or short story is unknown to me. I mean, I can make this end in five or six chapters, but I think that I want to make this a tad longer than that. Any opinions? Anyways, I hope you enjoy reading and please R&R!**

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Chapter Three

Eventually my tears stopped. Even when I stopped crying I still held on to the man. I felt sorry for him; he had to stick around and embrace me as I cried. Then he had to deal with me not wanting to let go. Of course, normally I wouldn't be like this. I wanted to be able to believe in love and affection, but I knew that love and affection would only exist in my dreams. Therefore, I never wanted this dream to end. I wanted to stay in this dream.

"You're not very cute when you cry." He stated.

I looked up at him. I gave up on love and affection, but I still knew how to tease people. "You're not very cute when you embrace minors."

"You embraced me first; I'm simply returning the favor." He stated. As we spoke we were still in each other's arms. My arms were still around his rib cage and his arms were around my shoulders.

I raised an eyebrow. "If you embrace minors like that, you could be labeled as a pedophile."

This time he raised an eyebrow. "Is giving a sympathetic hug a federal crime now?"

I sighed; I knew the dream was coming to an end. I asked him, "Can I wake up now?"

He raised his eyebrow even higher. "Excuse me?"

Now I was confused. This _was_ a dream, wasn't it? "I've had enough of my dream. I would love to wake up and go back to my regular life now." It was a lie, but I was afraid that if I lived in the dream for much longer, I would eventually never be able to go back to reality.

"You have dreams about pedophiles embracing you while you cry?" He asked teasingly. "You surely have strange dreams."

"This _isn't_ funny; I want to wake up… _now_!" I told him straightforward. No way in Hell was I going to let this dream master keep me in his dream forever. This time I dropped my arms from around his ribcage and crossed them, he, too, dropped his arms. I said stubbornly, "I'll close my eyes, and when I count to ten I want to wake up back on that bench over there and be back in reality."

He put his arm in front of him as if he were a butler and bowed, as he did so he said, "As you wish, Miss."

"Thank you." I replied. I closed my eyes and began the countdown. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten—" Before I opened my eyes I felt a strange force on my body.

When I opened my eyes I could see his face right in front of mine. His lips were pressed up right against mine, practically crushing them with force. My eyes widened and my heart skipped several beats. I could feel my entire face blush with what I _thought_ was embarrassment, and I _thought_ my heart was beating faster and faster due to that embarrassment.

I pushed him away from me and shouted, "What do you think you're doing?"

He wiped his mouth and said, "I tried waking you up, but apparently it didn't work."

"You tried to do what?" I was utterly confused.

The man sighed, as if it were fairly obvious. He placed his right hand on his hip and explained, "You said that you wanted to wake up and you wanted me to wake you up. I couldn't think of anything. Then, of course, there's that one fairytale about Sleeping Beauty where the prince kissed the princess to wake her up. I thought that might work." He explained to me coolly.

"That makes absolutely no sense!" I snapped at him.

He sighed, "You're obviously awake, so stop trying to wake up."

My arms were still crossed, but my hands were now formed into shaky fists. I did not that to count as my first kiss. No way in hell was I going to let this stranger kiss me without even getting to know me! No… I wasn't even going to let him kiss me even _if_ he knew me. No one was ever going to kiss me!

"Hey Ikuto," I turned to see a male about the strange man's age calling to him. He had brown hair chopped up into tons of layers and his eyes were a dark brown so dark that they were almost black. He was wearing a trench coat with a darker khaki color than the one the other man had, and his was unbuttoned to reveal a pale blue T-shirt with a fancy design of a cross on the front and a pair of mid-blue jeans. On his right foot he had an average brown hiking boot; on his left foot, however, he had a lime green cast on his foot. To help support him, the man had a crutch underneath his right arm. In his left hand was a black umbrella; he was a smart man for bringing an umbrella. "I finished up in there; doctor said that I had to keep the cast on for another two weeks."

The strange man, whose name I presumed to be Ikuto, watched him as he walked up to us. While my little scene with Ikuto was going on, my back was turned to the hospital so I had no idea how long the man with the cast had been standing there. In order to even see him I had to turn my entire body around.

"That's good," Ikuto replied, his voice was practically apathetic. Apathetic… now where have I heard a voice like that? Oh, yeah… "Are you ready to go home?"

The man with the cast looked over to me as if he had just noticed me. He said, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see you standing there. Were you two in the middle of something?" He looked back and forth between us once or twice expectantly, his eyes finally ended up resting on me.

"Not at all, we just finished here." I said, I returned back to my indifferent tone that I used most of the time, except this time it had a hint of bitterness.

"Oh, okay," He seemed nice. He was probably one of those really nice, athletic, understanding guys whom the girls just go crazy over. At least, every girl except for me would go crazy over him, anyways. "I'm Okazaki Akatsuki, but you can call me Akatsuki. And you are?"

I looked at Akatsuki; he had put out a hand, as if he wanted me to shake it. I grimaced at the hand, but soon enough I wiped the grimace off my face and reluctantly shook it. "Hinamori Amu, nice to meet you, I guess."

Our handshake was cut short, thanks to my reluctance, and I stood there like an idiot, wondering what I was going to do next. I could just leave, but since Akatsuki was so nice it seemed rude to just get up and leave. If it was just Ikuto, however, I could leave without another blink of an eye.

"Man, you two are soaked, why are you guys standing out in the rain?" Akatsuki asked. I'm sure that if he wasn't so awkward with his cast, he would have let us share his umbrella with him.

"Long story," I replied. I took my phone out and flipped it open, surprised that despite the wetness of my pocket my cell phone was still okay, the time said it was already four forty-two. "Anyways, I should get going—"

I was surprised to have my phone snatched out of my hand. I looked over to see Ikuto had grabbed it out of my grasp. I was insanely angry at him, how many rights did he think he had? First the kiss and now he was taking my phone? What a character! And no, I do not mean that in a good way.

"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to keep my cool.

Ikuto punched the buttons on my phone faster than I could ever imagine someone to punch numbers. Actually, scratch that, I think it was just because I couldn't punch the buttons in that fast. It always took me a long time to figure out which button was which.

"You have one contact one here." Ikuto simply replied, as if it was obvious. Now he flipped out his own dark grey cell phone and began punching in all sorts of numbers.

"So what?" I was getting impatient with him. He explained nothing to me.

He tossed my phone back to me, which I barely caught, and said, "If you ever need help, there. It's not safe for someone to only know two phone numbers."

Unable to make the connection, I asked, "What?"

He sighed. He closed his phone by simply pressing down the top part with his index finger and explained coolly, "You know Fujibayashi Ryuu's phone number and you probably know the phone number of 119. If your little Ryuu is busy and you're in dire need of help, it's not safe to only rely on 119."

"The man's got a point." Akatsuki agreed. Now I was confused, I was taught to _always_ rely on 119 for emergencies. "So you gave her your phone number?"

"Yours too," Ikuto replied as if it were obvious. "Akatsuki, let's go."

"Sure…" Akatsuki raised an eyebrow; he was probably wondering why Ikuto had given him my phone number. "Bye-bye, Amu-_chan_."

I watched the two leave, standing there like what I thought was an idiot. Once they were out of sight, I flipped open my phone and looked into my contacts. Surely enough, there were two brand new contacts in there: Okazaki Akatsuki and Tsukiyomi Ikuto.

* * *

**Now Amu has been granted two new phone numbers. Will she use them? Will Amu come out of her reserved state or will she just be dragged in even deeper? What will happen to her next as she continues to live on through her life? Until next time!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey guys, it's Anya! I got some reviews and it got me totally pumped up so I wrote chapter four :3! But since school starts once more on Monday, I probably won't be able to update like I have been doing this weekend ^__^". So anyways, here's Chapter Four! I hope you all enjoy it! :D**

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Chapter Four

My life continued on as always. Nothing seemed to change. I never spoke to Ikuto or Akatsuki, although I had their phone numbers. I figured that it would be best if we didn't contact each other at all, yet… why did I keep their numbers on my cell phone?

The current date was April 25th, exactly eleven days since I last saw Ikuto and Akatsuki. It was a Saturday, and luckily this week we had no Saturday school. Ryuu-san was out for the weekend due to a convention for her workplace and wouldn't be back until late Sunday night, so I had the entire house to myself for the weekend. Now, others may find leaving a thirteen year old girl by herself for the weekend as reckless, but Ryuu-san was different. Ryuu-san told me just before I left, "You're what, thirteen? You should be old enough to stay by yourself. Don't forget to lock the door."

Ryuu-san was always like that. She always thought that I should be acting older than my age. I didn't mind it, but sometimes others would think that Ryuu-san expected too much of me. Ryuu-san thought that since I was already thirteen, I should be able to: cook, clean, sew, and look after myself. I'm not so sure why, but I agreed with her.

My day was spent doing what I did every Saturday. I made breakfast, cleaned up after myself, cleaned everything else, did my homework, took a bath, blew my hair dry, made a small late afternoon snack, and studied. Since I didn't have any friends, my weekends were spent doing the same exact things over and over again. Of course, being friendless meant that I had plenty of time to study, so I was at the top of my class and I always found school easy. However, sometimes I wondered if it was truly worth it.

I was walking to the bookcase Ryuu-san and I had to find something to read. It was only six o'clock, so I had tons of free time left for the day. While walking, I tripped over what was the only one of the two steps in our house.

Our house was one story high, so we had no need for stairs. The entire house only elevated upwards twice. The first step was about two meters in front of the front door. At the front door we would take our shoes off and then go up a step into the house, like most Japanese families did. The second step was right in front of the hallway that led to my room, Ryuu-san's room, and the bathroom. In the front room of the house the kitchen, dining room, and living room all shared one large room. The only thing that separated the kitchen and the living room was a counter. Anyways, once you got to the back of the combination room there was a hallway that led to the other rooms of the house. In order to go up this hallway you had to go up a step, which really was not too hard.

"Ow…" I mumbled. I fell down face flat on the floor. I put my hands beneath me and pushed myself up. As soon as I got up I heard a crunching noise, a very familiar crunching noise. "You're kidding…" I looked at the bottom of my hand, and surely enough, there was a crushed contact.

M eyes hated me almost as much as I did. A few years ago I had to start wearing contact lenses because of my near-sightedness. I had a pair of glasses, but I only wore my glasses when my contact lenses broke, which, until today, had never happened.

"Crap!" I cursed. One of my eyes could see perfectly fine, while the other one could only see in blurs.

I got up and went back to my room, hoping that another spare set of contact lenses would be there. Of course, the pair that I had been wearing was my last pair. I took my glasses out of the top drawer in my desk. The frames were thin and in the shape of half circles, leaving the top of the glasses frameless. They didn't look bad on me, in fact they looked good, but I still hated wearing them.

I took out the single remaining contact and put on my glasses. I opened up my contact case and put it in there; I could probably reuse it as a spare later on. Since I had the rest of the day, I decided that I would go pick up a new pair of contact lenses and maybe do some grocery shopping. Ryuu-san always told me that I should start doing things on my own, so she had a metal container filled with a lot of money. She said that if I needed something I should just take it and go buy it myself. Although, this was the first time I used it. There was a piece of paper inside the box when I opened it, it said to write down everything that I bought and how much it cost; typical Ryuu-san…

I left the house once I changed into clothes more appropriate for public. I put on a pair of jean shorts, white and red striped socks that went up to my thigh, and a sweatshirt that had a white torso with an off-center black X and black sleeves and a black hood. I slipped on a pair of my white sneakers and left, with both my wallet and cell phone on me.

Contact lenses weren't too hard to find. I used a very simple kind, so I got them easily. When I got to the grocery store I got everything I needed and a small box of chocolate pocky for a late night snack if I got hungry. I didn't get too much at the grocery store, just some vegetables and spices that we were low on. If I got too much I wouldn't be able to carry it home.

When I was nearing my house it was quite dark. About an hour and a half had passed since I left the house at about six twenty. I was a slow walker, and I took my time while shopping that day. Since there was no reason to rush I decided to take my time.

As I was turning the corner of the street my house was on, I heard a large banging noise. I sighed, figuring that the neighborhood kids were playing some sort of game. However, when I turned the corner, I found myself completely taken by surprise. What I saw was not at all what I expected. Instead of seeing some kids playing a fun game, I saw what the last thing I ever wanted to see.

My heart almost stopped, and my eyes widened when I saw him. I stopped in my tracks immediately. My mind continuously raced, wondering why he was here. It had been so long, I had never expected him to _actually_ show up. He had no idea where I lived, so how could he have found me? I wasn't even in contact with him!

"Amu-chan…" The words were in a slur. His voice was raised, but he was nowhere near yelling as he said, "Open up, Amu-chan!"

There he was, my father. My good-for-nothing, abusive, drunkard of a father was there. I had not seen him in seven years, since the day that he threw me down the stairs. In fact I hadn't even talked to him, so how he knew my location was completely unknown to me.

My father was banging on the tall gate in front of our house. The homes in my neighborhood had tall fences around their homes. Some had plain chain link fences, but ours was a tall stone fence with an iron gate that had to be opened up with a key.

He collapsed to his knees, not because he was tired, but probably because he realized that I wasn't coming out. He turned his head, unfortunately, over to where I was standing. Our house was the third one down from the corner, so he wasn't too far away from me. It took him a few moments to realize who I was, probably because I had grown in the past seven years, and his eyes lit up.

"Amu-chan, it's you!" He cried out. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, and I was standing completely still. He began staggering over to me, and I had no idea what I was supposed to do. "Amu-chan, come over here! Why are you ignoring me?"

"S-stop it…" I mumbled.

I was afraid of him. I didn't want to repeat the incident seven years ago. But my legs were frozen in place, so I had no idea what to do. My father was only two meters away now. I was trying to tell my legs to run, but they were frozen in place.

My father managed to say, "Amu-chan, why are you acting so mean? I love you, Amu-chan!"

That's when I ran. Although I was afraid of him, what he said scared me even more. I told myself that love and affection were useless in this world. I said that no matter how strong a bond of love may seem; it can easily be broken. However, humans want this invisible, brittle bond in their lives so much that they crave for it. They desire it. I couldn't stay any longer, I was afraid that he might say something that would bring me back into that world of unforeseen pain.

"Amu-chan, don't run!" My father cried after me as he chased me.

I decided that running around the block would be best. That way he would be behind me and I could get to my house. Once I got inside I could find some way to make him leave. However, right now I had to focus on getting away from him.

For some reason I was slow at running that day. My legs were numb, and I couldn't even tell if I was running in a straight line. The two bags in my hands felt like they were weighing me down, but I had no choice but to run. Even when I felt like I was about to collapse, even when I felt like he was going to catch me even if I ran, I continued to run. I was not going to give up.

I had turned the corner and was heading back on my street again. I just had to run past seven more houses and I would be at my own. I refused to stop now. My pace only quickened, and my father was falling back behind me. I was almost home safe, I was about to be free! Then my plans were ruined. My foot got caught on a sprinkler that was on my next-door neighbor's lawn. As I fell, it felt as if everything was moving in slow motion. I could hear my father screaming my name, begging for me to stop, and I could see the grocery bags falling down with the paper bag that held my contact lenses. My glasses were slipping off of my face, and I knew that they would most likely shatter. I closed my eyes and braced myself; I knew that the fall was going to hurt.

I fell… no, pounded… no, I _slammed_ onto the ground. My glasses were barely hanging off of my face and all of my bags fell onto the ground. _I have no time for this… Amu, get up!_ I thought to myself. As I got up I could feel that my right knee was banged up pretty badly, and I tried to reach for the key that was in my pocket. I took out the key and unlocked the gate shakily, trying not to waste any time. I realized that the key was put in backwards so I had to take it out and redo it, and I could hear my father getting closer and closer. Once again the key was not working, so I twisted it the other way and it finally opened. I grabbed my stuff and threw it inside.

When I tried closing the gate my father grabbed it. He screamed, "Amu-chan, don't go! I finally found you, Amu-chan!"

"Go away!" I screamed and pushed him.

Due to his awkwardness from drinking he fell forward, so I figured that closing the gate would only trap him inside with me. I grabbed my bags and reached for the key underneath the doormat. I tried opening the door. It wasn't working; I continuously moved it around, trying to find out how I could open the door. Normally I would get it on the first try, but today it took me at least three or four tries.

My father was right there when I tried closing the door, and he stopped me from closing the door by putting his foot in the way. He screamed, "Don't leave me! I want my daughter back!"

I dropped my stuff on the floor and ran inside the house, he was too fast. I didn't even take off my shoes. With a quick apology to Ryuu-san inside my head, I ran straight for my room. He foresaw the step into the living room, but when it came to the step in the hallway, he was completely caught by surprise. He immediately fell forward, giving me my chance to run into my room. I slammed the door and locked it; I knew that I was safe in there… for now.

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**Muahaha! My attempt for a cliffhanger! :3  
So, what will Amu do? Will she face her father, or will she cower in her room until she leaves? Maybe she'll get another idea? Until next time!  
(My second attempt at try to build suspense... hehe...)**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, it's Anya! I'm not so sure what I should write about here this time... except that I've been writing a lot just because this story is so exciting to me and I hate holding back on chapters and such! x3  
But I wanted to clarify two things which I've been meaning to do but have kept on forgetting to do:  
Saturday School- This was mentioned in the previous chapter. In Japan, some schools go to school either: Monday-Saturday, Monday-Friday, or they might go Monday-Friday and then have a half day of school on Saturday. I realized that Seiyo Elementary does this from watching the anime (hehe ;3) and so I thought I would make a reference to that.  
119- This is mentioned in chapter three and five. 119 is like the Asian version of 911. I know they use 119 in Taiwan, but I'm not 100% sure if they use it in Japan, so I decided to be safe and use 119. So... yeah ;D  
All reviews are appreciated!**

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Chapter Five

_119! I'll call 119!_ I exclaimed in my head, realizing that I had an idea. I sat with my back against my door; my father was stirring from tripping and would probably be pounding on it at any second. I pressed the first one on my cell phone only to realize that it wouldn't help me. If they came, they'd probably wonder what a thirteen year old girl was doing all by herself, and why Ryuu-san wasn't here. I didn't have any emotional attachments to Ryuu-san, but it could be possible that she could. What would happen if I left her? I had no one to call. Ryuu-san was too far away to help me. So what was I going to do? I only knew two phone numbers—

_"You know Fujibayashi Ryuu's phone number and you probably know the phone number of 119. If your little Ryuu is busy and you're in dire need of help, it's not safe to only rely on 119."_

Those words from Ikuto were ringing in my head. I opened up my phone and looked at my contacts. There they were: Tsukiyomi Ikuto and Okazaki Akatsuki. I could call Akatsuki, but he had a broken leg so he might get even more badly injured. The only other person I could call was Ikuto. I selected his contact, and all I had to do was press the send button.

"Amu-chan; let me in!" My father was pounding against the door. My heart and body jumped, and my phone fell out of my hand. "Amu-chan, I'm your father! I love you! Let me in, Sweetheart!"

His words were filled with emotion, but the emotion was not one I would call love. He was probably too drunk to remember anything. I curled up into a ball and put my hands over my ears. I didn't want to hear him at all. I could only think of the incident from seven years ago. I probably would have died if our neighbors hadn't come and saved me. Now it was different. Ryuu-san's neighbors kept to themselves and never really talked to us. I knew that they wouldn't come to help; they would just complain about it being noisy or say "Oh, I wonder what's going on?" but they wouldn't help.

"Go away!" I screamed. "Leave me alone!"

"Amu-chan, I'm sorry! I love you! Let me in!" My father's words did not sound sincere. They sounded like something he wanted to say seven years ago, but not something that he wanted to say now.

No matter how I tried to cover or plug my ears, I could still hear him and the pounding against the door was shaking my entire body. "Go away! I hate you! Leave me alone!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, although I knew that no one would come and save me.

My mind wanted to block it all out as my father screamed repetitive words. I knew he didn't mean it, I knew he was just saying it because he felt guilty. He was only saying it for self-satisfaction. He was acting selfishly, although I, too, was acting selfishly. I wanted him to leave, but at the same time I wanted him to stay and hear him sincerely say that he loved me. I only wished for sincere words, yet all I ever got was a bunch of bull coming from their mouths.

"Just go away!" I screamed at him constantly. I knew that he would not leave. I also knew that no one would save me, but I still shrieked, "Somebody save me, please!"

The banging stopped immediately, but it was followed by a large thump. My heart skipped a beat. Was it God? Angels? Had my suffering truly been exchanged? Although I wanted to open the door and see what had happened, I staid completely stilled. _He may have just fallen asleep,_ I told myself. The fear rose back up again, and I only pulled myself in closer, forming a tighter ball.

"Amu, are you okay?" The voice was different this time. It was a low, husky voice that made me want to forget everything. "Amu, everything's fine now, open up."

I wanted to believe the voice so much. However, my mind told me that I shouldn't believe everything that I hear. If I did believe everything that I hear, I would have believed my father when he told me that he loved me just now. I tried to squeeze into a tighter ball, but soon I was as tight as I could be.

"I don't believe you!" I spoke back to the voice. I had no idea who it was, so I wasn't going to give in.

The lock on my door popped open, and the door was swung open. I fell backwards, now that there was nothing to support me anymore. My ball was kept in perfect balance, though, and I shut my eyes tightly and my hands were kept over my ears.

"Open your eyes, Amu." The voice told me. "If you stay there with your eyes shut, you'll never know what might happen to you."

The voice was right. Closing my eyes while in the midst of others was not something I wanted to do right now. However, my entire body hesitated. I wanted to believe that opening my eyes was okay, but my mind and body knew better. That's when I decided on something. Even if it wasn't okay, I was still going to face this head on. No matter what might become of me, I was going to face this problem without any regrets.

I slowly opened my eyes to see whom the voice was coming from. Once again for the day, I was caught in utter shock. Right above me was a pair of sympathetic sapphire eyes. I slowly released my body from the ball I had squeezed into, and I just lied there, staring up into those eyes.

"Ikuto?" I wanted to confirm his identity.

"Yeah," Ikuto answered.

How had Ikuto known that I needed help? How did Ikuto know where I live? Why _was_ Ikuto here? Had he been in the neighborhood, heard some yelling and screaming, and then decided to come on in and help out? I mean, my father had been screaming my name so it shouldn't have been too hard to figure out.

"Why are you here?" I asked him bluntly. I returned back to my apathetic self, there was no way I was going to let him see me when I was scared beyond belief.

Ikuto raised an eyebrow and said, "You're the one who called me."

This time it was my turn to raise an eyebrow. "I never called you."

Ikuto crouched down so his face only about thirty centimeters away from mine. His sapphire eyes were glistening, and his navy blue, no midnight blue; hair was shining in what little moonlight was in my house.

"I received a phone call from a contact called Hinamori Amu, and I could hear screams of 'Let me in, Amu! I love you!' and 'Go away! Leave me alone!'" He explained to me coolly with a little bit of irritation in his voice. "Once I ran around for a little bit I stumbled upon your house, hearing something similar. Do you want to try telling me that you didn't call?"

I remember wanting to call Ikuto, but I never actually did. I was going to call him, but then… what _did_ happen? Oh, right, my phone dropped onto the floor. When I dropped my phone, the send button must have been pressed and called Ikuto. That was the only explanation I could think of.

"If I called you then it wasn't on purpose." I replied coolly.

He sighed; he probably realized that this conversation wasn't going anywhere. He changed the topic, "So who is that guy over there, anyway? Is he your ex-boyfriend or something?" He then asked teasingly, "And you called me a pedophile?"

I grimaced at his ignorance. I answered, "I don't date old men."

He smirked and said, "I was just joking."

"You joke too much." I informed him.

He stopped smirking and asked, "So are you going to tell me who he is or not?"

I closed my eyes with the irritation I had with his questions. I answered bluntly, "I believe that that's none of your business."

If I let Ikuto know about my past, it would show him that I trusted him in the least. I didn't want to get involved with anyone if I could help it. My heart may have yearned for love like any human's heart would, but my heart had a greater yearn for not being hurt again. I wanted to make sure that my heart got what it wished for the most.

"I believe I have a right to know." Ikuto's voice never faltered from his indifference. He pointed out, "I did save you, after all."

I opened my eyes to see that his face was a little closer than before. He was grimacing, and even with his grimace he still looked handsome. I looked away from him, I was afraid that if I looked into his eyes for much longer I might end up saying things that I didn't want to say.

"Fine, I'll tell you." I felt a light blush come to my cheeks. I was embarrassed to admit it to him. "Just promise that you'll leave me alone afterwards."

Ikuto sighed and said, "Fine."

I looked back up into his eyes with determination; my blush had completely left my face. I knew that Ikuto was in no way doing this out of love or affection. He was only doing it because… because of pity! That's right! He was only here because he pitied me, no other reason. Well, at least that's what I tried to convince myself with at the time.

"He's my father." I admitted, as embarrassing as it was to call that man my father.

Ikuto raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why won't you let your own father in?"

I frowned. Although, I had no right to blame him, since he had no idea of my situation. I explained, "I don't live with him. I live with my foster mother, Fujibayashi Ryuu." I knew that he would recognize my foster mother's name once I said it, so I was sure to add that in.

He lowered his eyebrow and was silent. He scratched his head a little bit, as if he was thinking about something difficult. He stood up straight and said, "All right, get a change of clothes and we'll leave."

"Huh?" I pulled my eyebrows closer together. I got up slowly, making sure that I wouldn't experience a head rush. "What are you talking about?"

Ikuto sighed and explained, "Isn't it obvious? You can't stay here tonight. Your father will only come back and make a ruckus again. He'll come back no matter what, but at least this way you won't be bothered by it. Got it?"

I frowned even more. Where exactly did he intend for me to go? "So where am I supposed to go?" I asked, trying to clarify the question.

His lips curved upward into a mischievous smirk. He pointed to himself with his thumb and said, "My house."

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**Ooh lala, an invitation to Ikuto's house. What will happen next as Amu finds her average life changing continuously due to meetings with this strange man?**

**Please review! :D**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey guys, it's Anya! How are you all? I've decided that I want to make this a long fanfiction (at least compared to the ten chapter version I could've done) so this will probably sum up to like... 20 chapters or so in total? It may end up being more. So I hope you guys enjoy this, and prepare for a wonderful ride in a car only washed with rain! ;D**

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Chapter Six

Name: Tsukiyomi Ikuto  
Age: 18  
Gender: Male  
Eyes: Sapphire  
Hair: Midnight blue  
Everything else: currently unknown

I knew practically nothing about Tsukiyomi Ikuto. Yet, for some reason, I was at his apartment, sitting on his couch. Ryuu-san was out of town for the remainder of the weekend, and my distant father had, unfortunately, found my location. Due to Ikuto's over protectiveness, I was now at his apartment with him, _alone_.

"You brought pajamas, right?" Ikuto's apartment was small. His kitchen and living room were combined into one room with only a counter to separate them, a lot like my house. There were only two other rooms in his apartment: a bedroom and a bathroom. Ikuto was currently standing in the kitchen part of the room, which was to my left, and he was leaning against the counter.

I froze. Had I brought pajamas? I opened up the duffel bag I had brought with some of my stuff in it, and, much to my horror and dismay, I had brought everything I had needed _except_ pajamas. I normally wasn't one to forget these kinds of things, but considering that I hadn't attended a sleepover for over seven years, I had completely forgotten to pack pajamas.

"I forgot." I answered bluntly, no embarrassment or shame in my voice.

He sighed, "It can't be helped then. You can take a shower first; I'll get some of my clothes for you."

Did he just say… some of… _his_ clothes? I knew that I shouldn't have been all nervous at that time. But the only man I've ever been alone in a house with was my father, and the last time that happened, I ended up at the bottom of a staircase with a concussion and several other injuries. However, since Ikuto was taking me in I didn't want to be picky about everything.

I got up and agreed by saying, "Okay."

There was a small hallway with two doors. One was to Ikuto's room and the other was to the bathroom. I took my chances and opened up the door to my left, luckily for me, it was the bathroom. I quickly undressed and turned on the shower. It took awhile for the water to get warm, so I had to stand outside of the shower for awhile. Once I got inside I drew the curtain and begun my nightly cleansing.

My mind was spinning in all sorts of directions while I took my shower. I had no intention of getting closer to Ikuto. Being acquaintances with him was fine with me. Whatever intentions he might have had would have to be shattered soon enough if I ever wanted peace of mind. I found myself growing to hate love, if that was even possible.

"Amu, can I come in?" Ikuto rasped on the door.

I figured that since the curtain was a dark blue color he wouldn't be able to see me. I replied, "I drew the curtain; it's cool."

The door opened up and I heard Ikuto walk in. "The clothes are clean, be thankful." I thought he was about to leave, but he asked, "Do you want me to take your clothes? I can wash them tomorrow morning along with mine if you want."

I debated the idea a little. If Ikuto washed my clothes it wouldn't be a big deal, right? I replied coolly, "Fine, do whatever you want."

Ikuto picked up my clothes, hopefully leaving my bra and underwear, and left. Once I heard the door shut I sighed with relief. I had sounded so rude to him. I didn't mind sounding apathetic or careless, but I really didn't enjoy sounding rude. Ugh! My heart was in so many places I didn't know what I wanted to believe anymore.

I looked around the shower. The shampoo and conditioner were both neutral scents –midnight breeze, it could be used for men or women— but I stopped when I got to the body wash. I picked it up and looked at it. The body wash was some American brand called Axe. I opened it up and smelt it; it smelt like… like… like nothing I had ever smelt before. It was a luring, seductive scent that made me want to forget all about the world.

"It's just body wash, Amu…" I told myself. I squirt a little bit into my hand and washed myself, not wanting to use Ikuto's sponge.

Once I finished my shower I was glad because the scent of Axe hadn't clung to me. Although I now smelt neutral, my skin was buttery smooth. Men had really good bath products; I was sure to make a mental note of that. I slipped into my undergarments which, thank goodness, Ikuto had left behind. I looked at the clothes that Ikuto had put out for me. He had lent me a long-sleeve dark grey shirt and a pair of black cotton sweatpants. I put on the pants first, they were quite long for me, and I had to pull the strings really tight so they could fit around my waist. As I put on the shirt, though, I was completely overwhelmed.

The scent was intoxicating. It was like the Axe body wash except ten thousand times better. It was a mix of fresh air, midnight breeze, and the Axe body wash all combined into one invigorating aroma. I put the sleeves up to my nose and took a large breath, allowing the scent to fill my nostrils. My entire body relaxed, and I felt so calm and allured that I had no idea what to think—

_No, Amu!_ I scolded myself. No matter how alluring the scent was, I was not letting my guard down. I turned on the sink and splashed my face with cold water a few times, trying to bring myself back to my senses. I looked at myself in the mirror; my eyes were taken over with determination. This time, I was _not_ going to lose! Not that I had ever lost before, but I was still completely determined not to make this my first loss.

I reached for the bathroom door. I then realized something. Why was I so determined? It's not like I was going to fall in love or anything. If I just acted normal, then nothing would happen. Ikuto might try something, probably not though, and if he did all I would have to do was stand my ground and tell him no.

"I'm doing this because…" I whispered to myself. "Because I… I..." I was at a loss for words. Why _was_ I acting this way? "I'm doing this because I'm Hinamori Amu!"

I walked out of the bathroom confidently, the answer wasn't exactly legit, but it satisfied me for the time being. I walked into the living room to see Ikuto lounging on the couch, watching television. Ryuu-san and I didn't have a television in our home; Ryuu-san said that the television was just another way to kill brain cells. Then, she would say that if I had time to watch TV, then I should use that time to study.

I casually sat down on the end of the couch, the one place that his body _wasn't_ covering up. I rested my elbow on the arm rest and then rested my cheek on my palm. I stared at the television, nothing exciting was on. Ikuto was just watching some girl anime about love and such. Honestly, did he have anything else better to do?

"What are you watching?" I asked, sounding uninterested.

He replied with a bored tone, "I don't know. I just turned on the TV and they said they're having a marathon of Shugo Chara reruns."

I raised an eyebrow, although I knew he wasn't paying attention. I decided to change the subject, "Are you going to shower?"

The show switched over to some girly transformation that you see in those magical girl anime. He replied, "I showered this morning."

"Negative Heart: Lock on!" The girl on the television exclaimed, while making a heart shape with her fingers. "Open Heart!"

Ikuto clicked off the television and asked, "Do you want something to eat?"

I looked over at the clock; it said that it was nine twenty-seven. I hadn't eaten since, like, four in the afternoon. I was almost starving.

"What's on the menu?" I asked.

Ikuto got up off of the couch and went into the kitchen half of the room. After looking around for about five minutes he answered, "We have hot dogs, ramen, and potato chips."

"Are you kidding me?" I turned over to see what he was doing. The couch was facing opposite of the kitchen, so I had to turn my entire body around to see him.

"No. Now, what do you want?" He asked.

I grimaced at him. He was what, eighteen? Shouldn't he know how to properly feed himself by now? I began thinking that maybe coming over to his house wasn't such a good idea. Actually, I had never thought that it was a good idea. Somehow he happened to drag me over here.

"I guess I'll have those weird dog things you mentioned." I answered.

"You mean hot dogs?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, that."

I never really liked ramen, and I knew that potato chips were nowhere near enough to keep me satisfied for long. Potato chips were nothing but empty calories; they did nothing except make you fat. Now that I think about it, the last time I had junk food was back when I lived with my parents. I didn't eat junk food all of the time, but every once in awhile we would go to a fast food restaurant for lunch or we would eat potato chips while watching a movie, although that didn't happen often. Ryuu-san always told me that I should take care of my body and what I put in it, so I did.

Now that I thought about it, I was always carrying around Ryuu-san's values with me like they were a chain around my neck. They always dominated my thoughts and made me think about what I should or shouldn't do. I suppose it's not necessarily a bad thing, but it somewhat irritated me that I had to follow everything that woman said to a t.

"How many do you want?" Ikuto asked while breaking open a plastic bag filled with these weird stick-shaped things made of what I thought was meat.

"Uh…" I tried thinking. I had never eaten a hot dog before. Were they even filling? "How many are you having?"

"Two," He replied. "Hot dogs don't really fill you up too much."

"Fine, I'll have two, too." I decided.

The hot dogs were finished in about thirty seconds. Each little hot dog was put inside a bun made of bread, and since Ikuto was short on toppings, all we could have on our hot dogs was ketchup. I took a bite into my hot dog after a quick thank you to Ikuto; and boy were they delicious! They were nice and juicy, and the tanginess of the ketchup and the doughtiness of the bun complimented the meat. I chewed slowly, making sure that I enjoyed every last bite of it. I had never had hot dogs before, but I was going to make sure that I had them again.

Ikuto finished his hot dogs quickly. I never really noticed, but most men could eat a meal in thirty seconds flat. I, on the other hand, was only beginning to eat my second hot dog when Ikuto had finished.

"You know, you try to act apathetic and tough, but you're really delicate and vulnerable, aren't you?" Ikuto asked the question out of random.

I tilted my head to the side. I regrettably swallowed whatever bit of hot dog was in my mouth and replied, "What's that supposed to mean?"

I took another bite of hot dog as he spoke. He told me, "You're always acting as though you're made of steel. But the past two times I've met you, you were really… quite the opposite."

I swallowed what I was eating. I retorted, "I have my down times, too. Don't you?"

He sat with his back against the armrest of the couch. He put his left elbow down on the back of the couch and rested his cheek on the palm of his hand. I was sitting the same way, except that my left hand was holding my plate and my right hand was holding my hot dog. He explained, "I meant that you're inconsistent."

My entire body froze. I knew I was inconsistent. I wanted to be loved, yet I didn't want love. I wanted to be open, yet I wanted to keep everything a secret. I wanted to have friends, but I didn't want to be hurt by friends. So I chose the side where I would be the safest, but sometimes my heart would waver. How did he know this?

"I'm very consistent." I told him, afterwards taking what was my last bite of hot dog.

He raised an eyebrow and replied, "Liar."

I took my time chewing, trying to buy myself time. Once my last bit of hot dog was turned into mush, I tried to think of a reply while I swallowed. I closed my eyes pointed out, "Besides, it's none of your business what I do, anyways."

When I opened my eyes, Ikuto was now over me. His face was only about ten centimeters away from mine, and his hands were on either side of me. He said in a seductive voice, "You're wrong. It _is_ my business."

I felt my cheeks turn a light pink color, probably not obvious enough for him to see. I looked at him with an apathetic face and replied, "Sorry, but whom I allow into my life is up to me, and you're not one of them."

"Then who is?" He asked, rather bitterly; his seductive tone was starting to lose its seductiveness.

My heart almost skipped a beat. He had a point. I never let anyone into my life. Somehow, even though Ikuto was a complete stranger, he knew this. Why was my heart so cloudy to others, yet so clear to him? I've only met him twice, and in those times I've never really said anything to him. Sure, once I cried in front of him and once I acted like a scared little girl in front of him, but that didn't really reveal anything, did it?

"No one is." I replied truthfully, my tone a little harsh.

He sighed and went back to the position he had been sitting in earlier. Relief spread throughout my system. He looked at me with a curious look in his eyes while he sat there. I looked straight back at him, except my stare was one of slight irritation.

A smirk spread across his face. "You'll change that soon enough." He told me.

I raised an eyebrow at him and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

He gave me a secretive wink and said, "You'll find out soon enough."

My heart beat a little faster at that moment. I had no idea why, but my heart was faltering again. I wanted to know what he meant when he said that I was going to change who I let into my life, but then again… my heart didn't want to have the slightest idea.

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**Why is Amu's heart wavering so much? Will Ikuto try doing anything to her during their little sleep over? Until next time!**

**Please review! *w***


	8. Chapter 7

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Hey guys, it's Anya! Time for chapter seven, continuation of the sleep over at Ikuto's house! ;D  
I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (I was up until 2 in the morning writing, lol)!

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Chapter Seven

"I'm sleeping on the floor, right?" I asked.

Ikuto and I were in his room. I was sitting on the edge of his bed and Ikuto was laying out a futon next to it. His room was pretty average. There was a neatly made bed, a bureau, and a desk with a chair. The entire room was filled with the same smell that his clothes gave off, except that his room had a warmer smell than his clothing. I tried not to breathe it in too much, afraid that it would once again intoxicate me.

As Ikuto straightened out the futon he replied, "Having a guest sleep on the floor would be rude. I'll be sleeping here."

I raised an eyebrow at him. What a gentleman… I wanted to make sure that he wouldn't regret it, so I asked, "You sure?"

Ikuto nodded his head and said, "Yeah, I'm fine."

_The man can be quite decent sometimes_, I thought to myself. I hadn't expected him to be so polite about everything. I guess even a rogue can come off as a knight in shining armor sometimes, right?

Ikuto finished straightening out the futon and asked, "Are you ready to go to bed?"

I dug through my duffel big, which was at the foot of Ikuto's bed, and found my contact case. I turned away from Ikuto and took out my new contacts, and put them in the case with the single one. When we were getting some of my stuff together before coming over to Ikuto's house, I had put in my new contact lenses.

"Yeah," I replied, putting my contact case back into my duffel bag.

I got underneath the covers as Ikuto turned off the light. Ikuto slipped into the futon, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I lied in the bed silently; the scent from the sheets was driving me crazy. It was so comforting and intoxicating that I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was as if all of the angelic scents had been combined into one, overpowering scent of wonderfulness. Words could not even begin to describe it.

My eyelids began to grow heavy as I breathed in the scent. Almost reluctantly, my eyelids slowly closed. I was exhausted; my day had been tiring. All I wanted to do at that point was smell the scent of the sheets and sleep. And that's what I did, as I slowly drifted off into the land of oblivion, or, as most call it, sleep.

The next morning when I awoke, I didn't even open my eyes. I was so warm, and it felt as though I was safe from everything bad the world had to offer. The scent from the sheets was even stronger now, and I was sure to enjoy it. My arms were wrapped around something sturdy yet soft, I figured it was a pillow, it was giving off the same aroma as the sheets, except stronger. I buried my face into it, enjoying its scent to its fullest extent. Normally I wouldn't act like this, but since I was still half-asleep, I figured that it didn't matter in the slightest.

That's when I realized something was wrong. I felt something rather heavy lay across my side. I was beginning to come back to reality. My eyes were still closed, but I knew that something was wrong. The object that I thought to be a pillow was slowly moving, and the object was much larger than a pillow would ever be. Plus, the fact that it was pretty rock hard didn't make any sense to me.

Reluctantly, I slowly opened my eyes. In front of me was nothing except for a piece of black fabric. I moved my head so I could look up, and I almost exploded at what I saw. There in front of me, I could see the gentle sleeping face of the one, the only, Ikuto. My arms were wrapped around his lower abdomen, and my face had been burying into the area around his stomach and rib cage. We were both lying on our sides, and his arm had reached out so that it was pulling me in closer. I knew he was probably doing it unconsciously in his sleep, so I couldn't really blame him too much for that.

I closed my eyes for a few seconds. I took a deep breath. I opened my mouth, and did what any normal person would do. That's right, I screamed.

Ikuto woke up with a shock, and he immediately withdrew himself from me. Once I was free, I also withdrew myself away from him. The moment we were completely unattached I stopped screaming. Ikuto was now sitting against the wall of his room; I had blown him back pretty far with my scream. I was sitting up on the futon; rage was boiling inside of me.

"What do you think you're doing, you pervert?" I yelled at him.

Ikuto rubbed the back of his head. He replied coolly, "I did nothing."

I growled at him, "Then why were you next to me when I woke up?"

He answered back matter-of-factly, "You probably fell off the bed and clung to me. Don't blame me because you wanted someone to cuddle with."

I scowled at him; my eyes were on the brim of tears, not because I was about to cry, but because my eyes were always watery when I woke up. I could already barely see without my contacts, so it was hard for me to tell what Ikuto's expression was like.

"Whatever." I calmed myself down and returned to my indifferent self. I grabbed my contact case out of my duffel bag and stormed into the bathroom.

Before the bathroom door had the chance to slam, I caught it and slowly shut it. I put my contact lenses in and stared at myself in the mirror. I looked like crap. My pink hair was tangled up and all over the place. My honey colored eyes was dull, and they lacked their usual shine. I splashed my face with water a few times, trying to wake myself up.

I grabbed the tube of toothpaste that sat next to the sink. Since there was only one tooth brush, I squirted a little bit of toothpaste onto my finger and cleaned my teeth the best that I could. The toothpaste was minty and thick, and it made my mouth feel like I had just come out of a dentist's office. Wow, did I ever just sound like one of those toothpaste commercials. I rinsed out my mouth and left the bathroom, not even wanting to know what might lie ahead of me.

Ikuto was in his bedroom putting the futon back into his closet. He seemed pretty tired, just like me, except that he still looked handsome, despite his disgruntled appearance. I tried clearing my head, what was I thinking?

"Get dressed; we're going out for breakfast." Ikuto informed me. He looked up at me and smirked. "That is, unless you want to eat ramen for breakfast."

"I think I'd rather go out for breakfast, thank you very much." I said while scratching the back of my head.

I grabbed my duffel bag and went back to the bathroom to change. I practically ripped his clothes off of my body, wanting to get rid of the alluring scent. I dug through my bag and pulled out a small plastic bottle of apple body spray. I thought I would probably end up using it, and I was totally right. I sprayed my entire body with it, trying to get rid of his scent.

_Stupid, pervert! I'll show him who smells good!_ I tried to clear my head of what had happened that morning. I was completely overreacting, but I had no idea how else I was supposed to react to this.

I changed into a black tank top and a pleated black skirt. I threw on a black sweatshirt with thin, hot pink stripes and a hood that took the form of bunny ears. I pulled on a pair of mid-thigh high black socks and sprayed myself with apple body spray again, making sure to get rid of Ikuto's deadly man aroma.

"Where do you want me to put these clothes?" I asked, holding the clothes that Ikuto had lent me.

Ikuto had already changed into day clothes. He was wearing a fitted black T-shirt with a design of a red cross on it. He also wore a pair of dark blue jeans and a white belt with sets of two holes going all the way around. His shirt was tucked into his jeans, which actually, looked pretty cool.

He was slipping into a black sweatshirt when he said, "Just put them in the hamper over there." I looked over to the left corner of the room closest to the door, and surely enough, there was a small white hamper. I dropped the clothes into it, seeing my clothes from the previous day on the top.

As he put on a pair of white socks, I told him, "I'm taking you grocery shopping today."

He looked up at me with the most awkward expression I've ever seen. He asked, "What for?"

I sighed. I had spent the entire night at his house and he was even buying me breakfast, I thought that the only way I could repay him was by making sure he was eating right before I left.

"Your eyes must be as dull as your stomach," I told him. "You're kitchen is practically empty. We're definitely going shopping for food."

He grimaced at me and sighed. He asked, "You're not letting that go, are you?"

I shook my head and replied, "No way."

We left for breakfast soon enough. We ended up eating at a family restaurant that was down the street from Ikuto's apartment building. I didn't eat too much, especially since I was already a light eater to begin with. Ikuto, on the other hand, ate like there was no tomorrow. Neither of us spoke too much during breakfast, we pretty much just ate in silence. I suppose the only thing notable about breakfast was Ikuto's obscene appetite.

Once the bill was paid and we were finished eating, we left for the grocery store. In order to get to the grocery store we had to pass through town square, where all of the shops, boutiques, and arcades were. Kids between my age and Ikuto's age were running around town square and having fun. Seeing them made me feel a pang of jealousy inside, but I knew that being alone was my choice. Besides, who needs friends, right?

As we walked passed an arcade, something bright red caught my eye. I stopped immediately to see what it was. Behind a glass window, in the middle of a sea of stuffed animals, it was sitting upright. It was a crimson bear with a red bow tied around its neck. Its bright red color made it stick out from the other stuffed animals around it. I was so tempted to buy it, except I realized a very important fact. That red bear, which I wanted so badly, was within one of those tricky crane machines.

I grimaced at the machine. These things were so dastardly. Each one had cute stuffed animals arranged in some random way. Every machine would have bright flashing colors, attracting your attention to it. The little sticker plastered onto the window from the inside that had the sign saying "50¥" on it drew you in. You think, "Oh it's only fifty yen. Why not give it a shot?" Then, of course, you lose. So you decide not to give up and you try over and over. Instead of paying that quick fifty yen, you end up paying well over five hundred yen. I knew how these machines worked, and I was _not_ giving in.

"What are you frowning at?" Ikuto walked up behind me, resting his chin on the top of my head, since he was a head taller than me, he was in the perfect position to do so.

Instead of glaring up at him I continued to stare at the machine. I answered, "Nothing."

"Do you want something?" He asked me. "If you want something, I'll win it for you."

I grimaced even more. That was another way crane machines got their money. Men always wanted to impress the girls that they were with, so they would always try to win them something from the crane machine.

"I don't want anything." I replied coolly.

Ikuto wouldn't buy that. "Just tell me what you want, I'll get it."

I realized that he wasn't going to give in so easily. We both had one thing in common: we were stubborn. I sighed and said, "Fine, I want that red bear." I pointed at the red bear, oh how I wanted it so. I felt like a little kid again, acting so selfish and wanting whatever material possessions caught my eye.

Ikuto pulled out some coins and pushed them into the slot. In total he paid a good one hundred yen, which would buy him three tries. He obviously wasn't so confident to think he could get it on one try, but then again, only idiots were confident they could win on their first try.

He clicked the "Start" button. He moved the crane over to the red bear, not really making sure whether or not it was positioned perfectly over the red bear, but just so that it was close enough. He clicked on the "OK" button and the crane dropped. The crane went right on top of the bear. But as it came up, it could only close in on the bear's ear, which unfortunately, was not enough to pull it up.

"It's possible." He told me. "This crane's tricky, though. It's pretty flimsy."

People were gathering around now to watch Ikuto play the crane game. I remember this happening before when I was little and my father tried to win me something from a crane game. Majority of people find this game interesting when others are playing it, so they tend to gather around and watch. The second time Ikuto tried, it was another fail. The bear had almost gotten picked up, but he had just barely missed by a hair. I was embarrassed to admit it, but every time the crane almost grabbed the bear my heart both raised as it almost caught the bear, and sunk as it failed.

Ikuto turned around to me, ignoring the other people, and he promised me, "I'll get the bear within the next two tries. I promise."

This time it was his third try. He clicked the "Start" button like he had the previous two times. He was completely focused on the crane game. I had never seen anyone so focused on one thing before. He moved the crane around; he even looked at it from both sides of the machine before he finally dropped it. The crane dropped so it was just a centimeter off-center of the bear. A lot of people around us said, "He failed" or "Do you think he got it?" I had no idea what to think. Everything seemed to be moving slowly. The crane slowly moved upwards and closed itself. And what did it close itself on? It closed itself on the bear's head. My heart leapt as I saw the bear being carried by the crane up into the air. As the crane moved over to the deposit box, I could only think, "Don't fall! Don't fall!" as it advanced.

My heart almost stopped. It was unbelievable. All of Ikuto's hard work that had been put into the bear was unbelievable. His focus, his attitude, it was all unbelievable. So why was it when the bear was dropped into the deposit box, I felt like I should have never asked for it?

"That was awesome!" I could hear cheers from the crowd around us.

"Mister, how did you pull that off?" Little kids from around us were speaking to Ikuto as he p0ulled the red bear out of the machine.

"Years of practice." Ikuto replied. My mind was in jumbles as Ikuto dropped the bear into my hands. I had no idea what I was supposed to say. I was feeling so joyful, yet so regretful at the same time. Why was I so hesitant about receiving a bear? "I told you I'd get you what you wanted." He told me with a smile on his face. With all of this happiness around us, why was I the only one who seemed different? Why was I acting so strangely? Why?

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**Who knew that a bear could cause so much trouble? Will Amu ever figure out why she's acting so hesitant, or will she just get even more confused as time continues? Until next time!**

**Please review! *w***


	9. Chapter 8

**Mushi mushi minna, Anya desu~(Hey guys, it's Anya)!  
Ah, another wonderful chapter of Washed Away with the Rain, which is probably the shortest chapter yet (excluding the prologue). I'm currently deciding how long I'll make this, I don't want to drag it out too much and I don't want to make it too short. So please, enjoy~!  
Also, thanks to everyone who reviews! You guys give me the extra energy to write! For some reason I just can't stop writing this, I find myself writing in all the spare time that I have, and it's unbelievable :O! I've never had a story I've enjoyed writing as much as this one.**

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Chapter Eight

Ikuto and I were in the grocery store near the produce section. The bear Ikuto had won for me was sitting in the baby seat part of the grocery cart. Since it was a pretty small bear, I had to block the two leg holes with groceries so the bear wouldn't fall out. I accepted the bear from Ikuto, but a part of me still regretted it. I was happy to have the bear, but it made my heart feel confused. Ever since I met Ikuto my heart has been in turmoil, becoming completely indecisive over and over again. I had no idea what I was going to do anymore.

"You owe me dinner." Ikuto told me bluntly while putting some carrots into the cart.

"Excuse me?" I raised an eyebrow. My arms were folded on the cart's handle and my chin was resting on top of my arms. The rest of me lazily leaned against the cart, trying not to make it move but still trying to relax itself.

Ikuto ripped a plastic bag from a roll that was hanging above the broccoli stash. He began comparing apples and throwing the good ones into the bag. "I won a bear for you, paid for your breakfast, let you spend the night, and I even fed you dinner; the least you can do is make me dinner."

He made a point there. I, however, was not giving in so easily. "Bite me. I'm not making you dinner."

Ikuto put the bag of apples into the car and walked over to me. He leaned over so he was level with my face. He inched himself closer; his face was right beside mine. I stared at him with an irritated look on my face. I thought that the best way to deal with it was to show him that it didn't bother me; like they tell you in kindergarten: if they know it doesn't bother you, then they'll eventually stop.

Within seconds he was right next to my ear. What was he planning on doing, whispering into my ear? Of course, he did something that completely shocked me. I felt solid teeth secure themselves around my earlobe. My blood was beginning to boil.

"What do you think you're doing?" I snapped at him, pushing him away from me. I stood up straight; I was totally on guard now.

Ikuto shrugged and replied coolly, "You told me to bite you."

As people around us began to whisper I blushed with embarrassment. I snapped, "It's an expression!"

"Whatever." He sighed, pushing the cart away. "By the way, you're making me stew for dinner."

We went around the entire grocery store getting whatever we needed for beef stew and then anything that Ikuto could eat once I was gone. I made sure he got plenty of band-aids and aspirin; I even hooked him up with a first-aid kit just in case anyone got hurt while in his house. Eventually we got everything we needed, and we were able to get to the grocery line without any troubles. Although I didn't want to go back to Ikuto's house to cook him dinner, I felt obliged to. He had been so nice to me and all, so I wanted to at least return the favor.

The lady at the check stand was a total flirt. She constantly twirled her curly red-brown hair and blushed as she spoke to Ikuto, trying to seem casual. She had freckles specked all over her cheeks and nose, and they looked ugly with the constant blush.

"So, is this your little sister?" She asked while looking over to me.

I raised an eyebrow. Sure, Ikuto and I had similar apathetic personalities, but we looked nothing alike. Our hair color and eye colors were practically opposites and our physical features were way too different.

Ikuto put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me in a little closer. He smiled smugly and replied, "My future girlfriend."

I pushed him away and said coolly, "In your dreams."

The girl checking us out seemed slightly disappointed. Her blush faded when Ikuto had put his arm around me, but her hope seemed to be rejuvenated once I had rejected him. Once she had finished checking us out, she seemed completely disappointed. She acted as if she wanted Ikuto to be in her check line forever.

Walking home was slightly rough due to the heavy plastic bags we had to carry in our hands. Ikuto's house wasn't too far from the grocery store, but it was hard, considering that we bought a ton of groceries. We passed through town square again. A lot more kids were out, now. My heart somewhat ached as I realized how jealous I truly was. I always tried telling myself that I didn't need or want friends, but sometimes I wished that I did have friends. I tried not to think about it often, but the topic seemed to be coming up every day.

I was completely relieved when we arrived at Ikuto's house, although I knew that I shouldn't be. After putting all of the groceries away, I started preparing dinner. Beef stew didn't take too long to prepare, considering the way I made it, but since I started at noon I may not be able to eat with Ikuto.

Ikuto plopped down onto the couch and said, "If you need any help, feel free to ask." He flipped on the television, watching some drama series that was showing reruns.

I got to cooking immediately. I had everything that I needed, and I was going to be sure that there were leftovers so Ikuto wouldn't have to complain about not having anything to eat, not like there was a chance I was going to talk to him again.

While peeling potatoes, my mind began to wander. I really didn't want to get involved with Ikuto any further, it would be best for both of us. I decided that after that night, once we had both eaten dinner, I was going to cut off all of my connections with Ikuto. My life was twisting and turning, and I didn't want that. I knew Ikuto probably didn't have any ill intentions, but this life just didn't work out for me. I didn't want to be hurt, not again.

_You're so selfish, it's disgusting_, I told myself in my head. I replied to myself, _I can't help it, I'm just a selfish person_.

"Ow!" I looked at my finger. The peeler had accidentally slipped and sliced my finger. Blood began to ooze out of the wound, and it begun to sting like hell.

"What's up?" Ikuto was on the opposite side of the counter in a flash. He looked at my finger and said, "You're really clumsy."

"Thanks for the update…" I replied sarcastically.

He grabbed my hand and put my finger in his mouth, trying to clean off the blood. I had heard girls from my class squeal about this kind of stuff happening in dramas and movies, but I had never actually expected it to happen in real life. My cheeks immediately began blushing lightly, and my heart was beating faster and faster. My body had no idea how to react to this. Was I supposed to be mad? Frustrated? Perhaps I was supposed to be happy? I felt his tongue move over the cut in one slow movement. The feeling was both sensational and soothing at the same time.

He took my finger out of his mouth and said, "I'll get the first-aid kit."

I looked at my finger once he had left. It was still slightly moist from when he had tried to clean my wound. Blood was oozing out again, but this time it wasn't oozing out as quickly as before. My heart began to beat from the memory of Ikuto licking it clean. I felt myself wanting more, and I wanted it to stay like that. I wanted him—

"No!" I whispered to myself. I shoved my finger underneath the sink and rinsed it off with warm water. It was soothing, even more soothing than Ikuto's method, but not as sensational. I brought my finger out from underneath the water and stared at it. I looked at it with a determined face and promised myself something. I promised myself that no matter what happened during dinner, I was _not_ going to get attached to or fall in love with Tsukiyomi Ikuto, no way in hell!

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**Will Amu really cut off all of her ties with Ikuto? Or will she have a change of heart and end up accepting Ikuto? Being expecting chapter nine: 'As the Rain Ends This, My Heart's Confusion.'**

**Until next time!**

**Please Review *w***


	10. Chapter 9

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Hey guys, it's Anya! A new chapter of Washed Away with the Rain is out, and I hope you all enjoy it! I lied in my last chapter, this is officially the shortest chapter of Washed Away With the Rain. Any who, I hope you guys enjoy it!

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Chapter Nine

"It tastes good." Ikuto said after swallowing a spoonful of beef stew.

I ate in silence, I had nothing to say. I looked down at my finger; the band-aid that Ikuto had so carefully applied was wrapped around perfectly. Trying to forget about my incident with the potato peeler, I continued eating. The sooner I was done, the sooner I would be out of here. Then, I could erase all of my ties with Tsukiyomi Ikuto.

Dinner ended quickly. I grabbed my duffel bag, along with the clothes that I had worn yesterday which were now clean, and left his apartment. He offered to walk me home, but since dinner had ended at only seven o'clock, I told him that I would be fine walking on my own.

When I arrived home, Ryuu-san, thank goodness, had not arrived yet. I was sure to clean up the mess I had made the previous night, and I wrote down everything I bought in the cash box and returned the extra money I had. I made sure the house was completely spotless; I didn't want Ryuu-san to know that my father had come.

Speaking of whom, I began to wonder what had happened to him. Ikuto had carried him down to the nearest park while he was unconscious once I had all of my stuff together. We both figured that once he woke up, he would think that it was all a dream and go home. I supposed that our predictions were right, for there had been no sign of him on my way home.

Once everything was in order I went into my room to lie down on my bed. As much as I hated to admit it, I actually had fun that day. My heart had twisted and turned, but the entire concept of it was still fun in some way. Yet, for some reason, I refused to return back to it. I whipped out my phone; it was my first step to forgetting Tsukiyomi Ikuto. I went straight to my contacts list and selected his contact. My finger rubbed gently on the erase button. Did I really want to do this? I shook my head; I _did_ want to do this. Without another thought I erased his contact, along with Akatsuki's.

I closed my phone and stared up at my ceiling. Was I really doing this? I'd only met the guy twice and yet I felt like… I felt… NO!

I shook my head. No way! Now way! I was _not_ attached to Tsukiyomi Ikuto! I continued to stare up at my ceiling. My eyes slowly drifted closed, allowing this hectic weekend to come to a close. I asked the heavens, _God, what will tomorrow bring me?_

I allowed myself to fall asleep peacefully. Although my hectic, fun, irritating, sad weekend was coming to a close, something I never would have expected was going to happen the next day, for while I was out having fun with Ikuto, I was practically digging my own grave.

The devilish sound of my alarm clock woke me up that morning. I hit the off button and stumbled out of bed. I was still in the same clothes I had worn all day yesterday. I groaned; I hated going to school. Due to all of my free time I had already memorized the material that we were going over, and I was already ahead of everyone in class. Sometimes, when the teachers caught me spacing off in class, they would send me over to the upperclassmen's classrooms so I could have a challenge for once. The days where I got sent to the higher classrooms were probably some of my better days.

I got changed for school, not wanting Ryuu-san to wait on me. I was ready within minutes, for some reason I was just in a huge rush today. I got everything together and checked the weather application on my phone. My heart almost skipped a beat when I saw the picture on my phone. Once again, there was a dark grey cloud with rain drops falling beneath it and a lightning bolt sticking out of the middle. It was going to rain today, and there was a chance of lightning.

I smirked. I didn't smirk for the reason you may think. Rain was what I needed right now, not because I missed Ikuto and wanted a small connection with him, but for quite the exact opposite reason.

Today, I planned on forgetting Ikuto and this past month completely, for all of my memories were going to be washed away with the rain.

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**Sorry it was so short, but I thought that this would be a good place to end the chapter.**

**So will Amu truly forget Ikuto? And what will await her at school that day? Look forward to chapter ten: And Here I Thought It Was Over. Until next time!**

**Please review! *w***


	11. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, it's Anya! I'm really tired and I'm going to head off to bed now but I thought I would load up chapters 9 and 10 before I went to bed. I really like these chapters, and I hope you all enjoy them! Also, I want to explain the ages that I'm using (based off of the actual anime) only one or two of them are guesses, but here they are:  
Amu's Age = X (So just add or subtract from Amu's age, which is 13)  
Ikuto = X + 5  
Kuukai = X + 1  
Utau = X + 2  
Yaya = X - 1  
Rima, Tadase, & Nagihiko = X  
Amu is currently in 8th grade/second year in junior high (Japanese school year ends in late March/early April). Ikuto already graduated high school, and Utau is in her first year of high school, Kuukai is a third year, Yaya is a first year, and Rima, Tadase, and Nagihiko are all second years like Amu. I hope that can clarify things in future chapters!  
Last quick note, is that I have to start writing a story for my creative writing club at my school, but I'm not so sure if that'll affect my fanfiction writing or not. We'll see soon. ;D**

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Chapter Ten

When I arrived at school that day, nothing seemed too out of the ordinary. Ryuu-san was back, and she was her usual, strict self. I had decided not to tell her about my father; besides, he had probably already forgotten about me and ended up going back to the bar for another drink. I was quite glad that Ryuu-san was now back at home, I had actually kind of missed her pushing her values onto me.

The moment I entered the halls, something didn't seem quite right. People all around me changed their loud voices to low whispers. Some gave me disgusted looks, while others gave me glances that seemed to say, "I knew it."

I ignored them completely. Besides, what could they do? It was probably just a coincidence… right?

"I mean, how can she be so immoral?" I heard a girl from the first year class speaking loudly. Her back was facing me, so she couldn't see me staring at her. I also assumed her eyes were closed, too, because her friends all had worried looks on their faces, putting a finger up to their lips, trying to silence her. "Seriously, how can she just go around like that and not have a guilty conscience—"

One of her friends put her hand over her mouth. The other hand was up to her lips with only the index finger sticking up; she was obviously trying to get her to shut her mouth. My stare hardened, what was everyone acting so strange about?

That's when I saw it on the wall, the large, colorful poster with the large letters written on it. I could see a picture of myself looking insanely ticked off, and an arm was around my shoulders. There he was with a smile, Tsukiyomi Ikuto. In large block letters above our picture it said, "Hinamori-san's" and below the picture it said, "Latest Scandal: Sleeping Around?"

My blood was boiling. Who had taken this picture? Better yet, who had decided to post this in the same room as the shoe lockers, where everyone could see it? I flipped my hair and walked over to my shoe locker. Our lockers were arranged by ABC order, grades and class numbers didn't matter. While I exchanged my outdoor shoes with my school shoes, a rather feminine looking boy was staring at me. I looked at the shoe locker where he had been exchanging his shoes before he begun staring at me. The name plate said his name was Hotori Tadase.

He had blonde hair cut into a rather fashionable style. I seemed to recall him being the student council president, despite only being a second year, like me. I gave him a stern, intimidating look. I asked coldly, "What do you want?"

A small blush covered his cheeks. He looked down and while slipping into his school shoes he stuttered, "N-nothing."

He closed his locker and left, in a sort of rush. I slipped into my school shoes, wondering how a shy boy like that could become student council president. I decided to shake it off; it didn't matter to me, anyways. I slid my umbrella into my shoe locker; I saw no point in carrying it around school. I slung my back pack –which was like a messenger back— back over my shoulder and walked up to the poster of me and Ikuto.

"Really, who has _this_ much free time?" I spoke aloud; I didn't care if anyone heard me. I turned around, I was making sure that I looked irritated yet intimidating and scary, but still keeping my cool composure that the students had labeled me with. "Honestly," I spoke louder this time, so everyone could hear me. Most heads were already turned towards me, but the few that hadn't been looking were looking over at me now. "If anyone has a problem with me, please confront me. Don't spread rumors, they're troublesome and a waste of my time and yours."

With one fatal sweep, the poster was torn off of the wall. The corners were still there, but it didn't matter to me. I crumpled up the poster, still managing to keep my cool composure. I tossed it upwards and drop-kicked it into the nearest trash can. The crumpled up poster landed in the trash can perfectly.

The kids around me gasped. Some people said that my actions only made me seem guiltier, while others said that my cool composure and calm reaction to the poster proved me innocent. I, however, didn't really care as long as I could forget about Ikuto as soon as possible. Since I was walking home today I was going to be sure to walk in the rain without an umbrella. I wanted to start anew as soon as possible.

"Yo, Hinamori!" I was about to walk into my classroom when an upperclassmen came up to me. I was in my second year of middle school, so I had a grade both below and above me. He had spiky orange hair going out in all sorts of directions and his eyes were a deep green. If I recalled, he was Souma Kuukai, the secretary of the student council and also the captain of the basketball team and the co-captain of the soccer team. A big smile was on his face, as if everything was right with his world.

I gave him a cold stare. "What do you want?"

Kuukai ignored my coldness and continued, "The student council wants to meet with you at lunch. Do you mind?"

"It's a bother." I told him straightforward, the harshness obvious in my voice.

He patted my head and replied with a big, goofy smile, "See you at lunch in the student council room!"

I flipped my hair and walked into my classroom, class 2-A. As I walked over to my seat, everyone from my class stared at me. Once I got over to my seat that was in the third row all the way on the side of the room closest to the door, I slammed my backpack onto my desk. I looked up at everyone around me and asked harshly, "Do any of you have a problem?"

Everyone returned to what they were doing. The only one who was still staring at me was a kid named Fujisaki Nagihiko. Nagihiko had insanely long dark violet hair. His eyes shone a bright gold color, similar to mine except his were much richer. Nagihiko had quite a girly face, but his mid-tone voice and toned figure made you forget your doubts about his gender.

Now that I thought about it, Fujisaki Nagihiko was also on the student council. I believe he was the treasurer? Wait… why were all of these members of the student council coming up to talk to me? Were the vice president, Mashiro Rima, and the sub-treasurer, Yuiki Yaya, going to come up to me and talk to me as well? My mind returned to this morning, when Hotori Tadase had been staring at me. Perhaps he was trying to ask me to come to the student council room, too?

Nagihiko walked up to me, a small smile on his face. "I'm sorry for this inconvenience, Amu." Nagihiko was very polite, and he often called everyone by their given name instead of their family surname.

I raised an eyebrow at him. Why was he apologizing? "Whatever, it's not really my problem as to what people think, anyway."

"I'm glad that you're confident in yourself," Nagihiko replied politely. "However, this may also cause a disturbance among the school and your home life. So if you could come to the student council room during lunchtime that would be great for both parties."

I sighed. I retorted with a "Whatever," and took my seat. Nagihiko returned to his seat, as well, and class continued soon afterwards.

All throughout the day I was day dreaming. During fourth hour, the class before lunch, we had an algebra test. I finished the test within the first fifteen minutes, if I hadn't had to show my work I would've been done within ten minutes. I put my head down on the desk, hoping to get some sleep for the next forty-five minutes while the others took their tests.

"Hinamori-san," My algebra teacher, Yabuki-sensei, was kneeling next to my desk. She asked me, "Since you're done, do you want to go to over to the home economics room with class 3-B?"

My head arose from the desk and I replied, "Why not."

I put all of my stuff away into my backpack and turned in my test. In exchange for my test Aizawa-sensei handed me a pass to the school's kitchen, where class 3-B was currently taking home economics class. On my way over to the home economics classroom, I tried to look for anymore posters that might have been hung up. I couldn't see any on my way over to the home economics room, so I sighed with relief as I knocked on the door.

"Yes?" The teacher, Aizawa-sensei, slid the door open just enough to poke his head out. Aizawa-sensei had always been a reserved teacher. He had tanned skin and short black hair, and behind a pair of rimless glasses sat a pair of dark brown eyes. He looked at me up and down and recognized me almost immediately, I was often sent to the home economics room since I was already ahead in my class, and he said, "Oh, Hinamori-san, please come in."

He slid open the door all the way and let me come into the kitchen. I walked in until I was just a few meters in front of the door. I looked over at the work stations, a bunch of upperclassmen were in the middle of cooking something. Everyone stopped almost immediately to watch me walk into the classroom.

"Hinamori-san, you can go help Souma-kun at his table in the back." Aizawa-sensei informed me while pointing to the same orange-headed boy I knew.

I tried not to grimace as I walked back to where Kuukai was. Kuukai was probably the last person I wanted to see then. As I walked to the back of the classroom where Kuukai was, the upperclassman began whispering about the poster from this morning. Whoever put that poster up on the wall was going to pay once I got a hold of them. I knew how to break people from the inside out depending on my words, so I wasn't going to let this get in my way.

"Hinamori, what's up?" Kuukai greeted me with the same goofy smile of his. His tanned skin had dashes of flour here and there, making his appearance goofier than ever.

I sighed and asked, "What are we baking?"

Kuukai took the recipe sheet from the side of the table; both his hands and the sheet covered in flour, and showed me the picture. He said, "We're supposed to make muffins."

Kuukai didn't move from the spot he was standing in with the flour over his face and the sheet held out with his flour covered hands. He looked… he looked like such a total nut. The fact that he was completely oblivious to how stupid he looked was almost too funny to bear.

"We have a _lot_ of work to do…" I gave him a you-are-totally-hopeless sigh and started helping him with the baking.

Home economics was actually… _fun_. I tried not to show it in front of Kuukai, but I actually enjoyed this class for once. When we began I was acting completely serious, but Kuukai eventually got me to break down from my seriousness by flicking flour at me and getting it all over my face and in my hair. I couldn't help but flick back; no way in hell was I going to let him get away with that. We practically had a flour war; we were almost covered head to toe in flour before Aizawa-sensei came up to us and asked us to calm down. I never really laughed or smiled, but I was still able to keep my cool, apathetic complexion while having fun.

After the muffins were made and we were all cleaned up, home economics finally ended. It was finally lunch time, which I had completely forgotten, was when I was supposed to meet the student council. Kuukai, unfortunately, was part of that student council. Although I tried to breakaway, Kuukai ended up dragging me to my worst nightmare, also known as the student council room.

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**What awaits Amu in the student council room? And what's going on with Amu and Kuukai? Look out for chapter 11: 'Can Broken Hearts Be Mended?' Until next time!**

**Please Review! *w***


	12. Chapter 11

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Hey guys, it's Anya! Wow, it's been like... three days since I've uploaded, man does that feel like a long time. Any who, I've been really tired lately for some reason. I wake up, go to school, and then when I come home I'm dead tired. So basically I for the past few days I would come home, check all of my stuff, take a nap, shower, do homework, and then go to sleep. Wow, what fun times :D! But my point is, is that being so tired totally kills my inspiration. I'm pretty surprised that I was able to even finish this chapter. I even started a new fanfiction, The Academy of Light and Darkness, which I was pretty surprised that I could actually do (I believe I did it after a shower, hehe...). So anyways, please enjoy~!

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Chapter Eleven

"Welcome, Hinamori-san!" Tadase greeted me with a shy smile when I entered the student council room with Kuukai. "Souma-kun, thanks for bringing her here."

The student council room was quite small. There was a large table in the middle of the room with six chairs around it. There was also a small table in the corner of the room with a tea pot and a portable stove top beneath it. There was an arrangement of tea cups next to it, along with sugar and crème. At the right side of the room there was a coat rack beside a green chalk board, the coat rack had all sorts of outfits hanging on it. Lastly, at the very back of the room there was a desk with a small laptop computer sitting on top of it.

Tadase was sitting at the desk with the computer, typing away. Mashiro Rima, the vice president, was sitting on the right side of the table. Rima was a very small girl, and her long, wavy blonde hair made her seem even smaller. Her large, deer-like eyes were a captivating gold color, and they made her seem so adorable. Yuiki Yaya, the sub-treasurer, was next to Rima, doing something with her cell phone. Yaya acted quite child-like, but she looked like she should be a third year in high school, despite only being a first year. Yaya had orange hair, lighter than Kuukai's, brought back into two pig tails ties together with big pink ribbons. Her light brown eyes had a childish glimmer to them, but the rest of her had pretty much caught up with her age. Nagihiko, unlike the others, was standing near the tea pot, probably preparing tea for lunchtime.

"No problem, King!" Kuukai winked reassuringly and took a seat on the left side of the table. I raised an eyebrow at his reply. King; what kind of silly nickname was that?

Gesturing over to the seat that was closest to me, at the head of the table opposite of where Tadase was sitting, Tadase asked, "Hinamori-san, would you like to sit down?"

"Whatever." I retorted and sat down in the seat. Yaya was still playing around on her phone, and Rima was now looking up at me with her large eyes.

"Thanks for waiting." Nagihiko set a cup of tea in front of each of us. "Today we're just having plain green tea, please enjoy." Once Nagihiko passed out the tea, he put the crème and sugar in the middle and took his seat next to Kuukai.

I felt so nervous sitting there in front of the student council. Everyone except for Yaya had their eyes on me. I had never been under so much pressure in my life. Sure, people would stare at me during school and squeal, but that was different. Here, I had to actually speak to the people staring at me; everywhere else, I just ignored the people staring at me.

"Hinamori-san, we would like to discuss the situation that happened this morning." Tadase look at a piece of paper that was in front of him.

I sighed; I was getting tired of this. "Listen, I didn't do anything wrong. I was out grocery shopping with a…" What _was_ Ikuto to me? He wasn't really in my life anymore, despite never entering, so what exactly was he? I finally decided on a word and finished my sentence, "An _acquaintance_. And he was only teasing me. It's not a big deal."

"The problem goes deeper than that." Rima spoke up. Her voice was soft and fragile, yet it had complete confidence. "If this was only a rumor, we would have no problem with that."

I raised an eyebrow. Now my curiosity was peaked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Nagihiko cleared his throat and explained, "The rumors have been spreading further. Due to your popularity, things such as the poster and hacking have taken place."

I was popular? I almost laughed at the idea. Maybe I interested people, but no way in hell was I popular. If I was popular then the student council must be made up of celebrities. Each member wasn't bad to look at, if you catch my drift.

"Hacking?" This word stuck out to me the most. I hadn't heard anything about hacking.

Yaya showed me the screen of her cell phone, surely enough, there was the picture of me and Ikuto, with the same headline as this morning underneath it. "This is from the school website."

My entire body froze. The _school's_ website had been hacked? Someone had actually gone onto the school website, hacked it, and then put a picture of Ikuto and me on there? Did this person just have too much time on their hands or did they just have serious skill? Either way, I was not in a good position.

"We would like to know if you had any thoughts on the matter." Tadase-kun explained to me. Yaya went back to playing around on her cell phone, almost completely ignoring the meeting.

Did I have any thoughts on the matter? I had a lot of thoughts on the matter. Someone, someone whom I've never spoken to, was going to such an extent to hack the school's website just to kill my rep. I couldn't think of anyone whom I could've upset. I spoke to barely anyone. Despite the fact that teenager's love to cause rumors, no one would go to such an extent as to hack a school website or make a large poster. That had to have cost _some_ money.

"Do you mean you want to know if I know who did it?" I clarified what he was asking for. I could give him a lot of my thoughts on this topic, but we didn't exactly have all day.

Kuukai answered for him, "He means do you at least have an idea? Like an enemy, or perhaps an ex-boyfriend you just broke up with." Tadase and Rima gave Kuukai a worried glance at his last statement, but pretty soon their eyes were back on me.

Did I have any enemies? I never spoke to anyone. No way in the world I could have done something that had offended someone. I always kept to myself, but everyone else always did quite the opposite. I tried to think of anyone that I could've offended, but no one came to mind. None of the people I had come in contact with over the past few years could have had a legitimate reason to hate me, I've done nothing.

"Well, I've never had a boyfriend so the second option is out." I glanced at Kuukai, he had looked pretty mad when he had suggested that option. Now he was in an apathetic state, as if the situation didn't matter to him. Which, in fact, the situation didn't matter to him; it didn't matter to any one of these council members.

"So is there anyone who might have a grudge against you?" Nagihiko recommended an idea.

I shook my head. I replied, "No one that I can think of. Besides, I never talk to anyone."

Everyone was silent. Had they _just_ realized how anti-social I'd been up until now? Yet, despite my anti-social attitude, someone must have come to hate me. I mean, why else would somebody try to destroy my reputation? Not like I had a reputation in the first place… The entire room was silent, except for Yaya's phone constantly beeping.

"What's _she_ doing, anyways?" I asked. I was a tad irritated; the student council was trying to get themselves involved with my problems, so why was she the only one allowed to play around with a cell phone?

Tadase looked over at Yaya, and then gave me an awkward smile while saying, "She's trying to see if there's any information she can pick up on who did this." I grimaced at his remark. If they already had someone looking into it, why did they have to have me here?

"Well if you have Yaya, then you don't need me." I stood up out of my chair and turned towards the door. Honestly, they were completely wasting my time.

Just as I reached for the door handle, I heard a voice behind me, "I got it."

My body involuntarily turned around to see who had just spoken. Yaya was sitting triumphantly in her seat, showing her cell phone screen to Kuukai and Nagihiko. She spoke with a large amount of confidence, "See? Yaya can do helpful things, too."

Tadase and company looked expectantly at her. Since Yaya was too occupied with shaking her phone with excitement, no one could read what the screen said. Rima seemed to pay no attention to Yaya, but only sipped her tea, as if she knew this was coming.

Rima closed her eyes and took another sip of tea. She spoke, "Yaya, just tell us whom it is."

"There are a lot of people saying that it's," My ears were not prepared for what I was about to hear. I had no clue what was going to happen next, and the name that was spoken was one that made me feel like I was an idiot. The name made me feel like I should've known all along, and that it was so simple to know that it was basically common knowledge. "Yamabuki Saaya."

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**Yamabuki Saaya? Whom is this person that Amu seems to know oh-so-very well? Will the rumors about Amu stop, or will they just get even worse? Look forward to chapter twelve: For What Goes Up Must Come Down, but Eventually it Must Go Up Again. Until next time!**

**Please Review! *w*  
(Reviews = Inspiration  
Inspiration = Ideas  
Ideas = Faster Chapter Releases****)**


	13. Chapter 12

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Hey guys, it's Anya! I'm here with a new chapter of Washed Away with the Rain. This chapter was pretty hard to write just because I couldn't really find the inspiration to write it. But after several events that happened today, I was finally able to spark up enough creativity to write this. I would also like to add that when I wrote this, I made Yamabuki Saaya a little out of character. Please forgive me for that, and please enjoy this chapter!

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Chapter Twelve

"Yamabuki Saaya?" I echoed the name.

"Yeah, a lot of people told Yaya that Yamabuki Saaya was responsible." Yaya explained to me.

I remembered Yamabuki Saaya. Yamabuki Saaya has been in my class ever since kindergarten. Her family was rich, and had a high social status. When we were little and I had told some of my friends in class that I was going to have a little sister, Yamabuki Saaya started to have a complex towards me. She was always trying to be better at me than everything, but I didn't pay too much attention to it. The day I came back to school, a few days after my mother and little sister died, everyone had been so excited to hear about my little sister. When I ended up crying in the classroom, Yamabuki Saaya began coming overconfident with herself. That's when it all really began.

Yamabuki Saaya had always been running around, trying to make her look better than me. She was always raising her hand in class to answer questions, she tried out for so many different activities, and she even began picking on me. If it had just been Saaya, it wouldn't have been too bad. However, Saaya had a group of four girls that always had her back. The four girls were all tied to Saaya by parental bonds. So in other words, it was nothing more than political friendship. Though, they were quite good actors because Saaya actually believed that they were completely loyal to her.

A bright idea popped into my head. "Well, since you guys know who did it, you don't need me. Bye-bye!" A gave them a sarcastic wave and smile.

I left the room, not wanting to be stuck there for the rest of lunch. I checked my watch, seeing that lunch was already nearing its end. I headed back to the classroom, not wanting to be late for class. If the teacher told Ryuu-san that I was late to class, Ryuu-san would probably give me some sort of cruel and unusual punishment.

When I got back to class, almost everyone had already arrived back from visiting other classes and eating their lunches. I saw Yamabuki Saaya and her four groupies sitting in the back of the classroom. They seemed not to notice me, but I knew better than that. I walked over to my seat, figuring that since kids would be in here during lunchtime, they wouldn't do anything; there were too many witnesses.

However, when I got to my seat I saw writing all over my desktop. It was all written in pencil, so it could be erased, but the fact that people had actually written some of the things on there could never be erased. The messages written varied from things such as, "Slut!" and "Get out of our school!" and "Safe sex! Use protection!" and "How many abortions have you had?" and "So you like older guys, eh?" and one or two of the messages had telephone numbers asking me to call them if I ever got bored.

I felt like crying. Telling from the writing and phone numbers, more people than just Yamabuki Saaya and her groupies were doing this. Ever since I created my outer character, I hadn't been picked on for a long time. Kids were normally too afraid of me to pick on me, so… why now? Why am I being picked on all of a sudden?

I made sure that my outer shell stayed whole, and did not crack. I changed right into character. I sighed, and grimaced at the writing. "Hey," I looked at the entire classroom. Everyone inside the room looked over to me with round eyes, both scared and curious. "Whoever has a problem with me, please don't write on the desk. It may be temporarily mine, but it's still school property. It's really not cool." I spoke in my cool, apathetic tone. I flipped my hair and opened my backpack to get out my eraser.

Once again, I had to fight back tears. Inside of my backpack was tons of trash from other students. Chip wrappers, pocky boxes, plastic bottles, juice boxes, crumpled up pieces of paper, and all kinds of other pieces of trash. I started shoveling the trash out of my backpack. Luckily all of the contents were still inside of it. I decided that I wouldn't say anything this time; I had spoken enough for today. Plus, I felt that if I spoke again I wouldn't be able to hold back the tears that wanted to force their way out.

At that time, Nagihiko walked into the classroom. He saw me piling the trash onto my desk, trying to make sure that all of it was out of my backpack. He had a concerned look on his face, as if he could see straight through me. This time, Nagihiko faced the class.

"Bullying a student is clearing against school rules," He began off strongly. "Amu has done nothing wrong; therefore no one has a right to judge her."

Everyone was quiet. Although Nagihiko was only the treasurer of the student council, he still had a lot of power in the school. Plus the fact that Nagihiko was popular amongst his peers. Girls adored him and guys admired him. Nagihiko was good at public speaking, studying in school, and he had high positions like treasurer of the student council and vice-captain of the basketball team. If Nagihiko could walk on water he'd probably be the perfect man.

"Are you honestly defending that slut?" A voice asked from the back of the classroom, a voice that I recognized too well. It was Yamabuki Saaya, probably trying to crush me even lower.

"Amu has done nothing wrong; there's no proof that she did anything." Nagihiko returned at her.

Yamabuki Saaya walked up to Nagihiko. Her green eyes were piercing as usual, and her dark maroon hair was straight at the top, but as it reached her chin line it exploded into large curls. She was quite pretty, but her personality was something that made her uglier than everyone else. Saaya got really close to Nagihiko, not in a flirtatious way, but an intimidating way. Saaya's groupies followed her closely behind, ready to protect their leader at all costs.

She asked him with an evil edge to her voice, "Why are you defending her so much? Did she also do you a special favor?"

Nagihiko's confident stance did not falter. He returned back, "Why are you trying so hard to bring her down? Is someone who barely talks _that_ intimidating to you?"

Saaya flipped her hair, similar to how I always do it, and said, "Like a slut can intimidate me, Yamabuki Saaya. I'm much too great for her small presence."

"A slut like her is incomparable to Saaya-sama!" One of the girls squealed.

"Saaya-sama is the greatest, no one can top her!" Another one of the girls spoke.

Although the girls acted like slaves to Saaya, it seemed like they truly thought that was what friendship was. Since they were forced to be friends with Saaya, they probably grew some twisted idea of friendship. I really pitied them, but my feelings towards them were still bitter. No matter how twisted their idea of friendship may be, it was no reason to pick on someone else.

Before Nagihiko could utter another word, I stepped in. I got right in between Saaya and Nagihiko, and it made Saaya back up from me. I put my hand on my hip, and I spoke in the same tone as before, "It's a pity."

Saaya looked angry now that I had gotten involved. She snapped, "What are you talking about?"

I answered her coolly, "You're really pretty, but your attitude makes you really ugly. It's kind of sickening in some ways."

Saaya growled at me, "Do you even have the right to judge me after what you did?"

Everything that Saaya said seemed to flow with what I wanted to say. She was just too predictable. "I don't have the right to judge anyone, really, but neither do you."

This time Saaya's groupies stepped in. "Don't talk to Saaya-sama like that! She can crush you like a bug!"

I sighed at them and asked, "This is between Saaya and me, can you please back off and let Saaya defend herself for once?"

The groupies, despite being totally hard-headed, saw my point. They slowly backed off, making this battle between only Saaya and me. Kids from class were starting to stare at us, watching us have our little quarrel. Since I didn't talk much, it was quite rare to see me so riled up for once.

Saaya snapped at me, "Don't start think that you're better than us, bitch!"

I looked at her with fierce eyes. I didn't look angry, but I certainly looked irritated. "All you can do is bully and snap at me. Your words and actions cannot hurt me, for I have done nothing wrong."

Her eyes were blazing on fire and she was grinding down on her teeth. She yelled at me, "You think that you can still be innocent after sleeping around like that? You're an embarrassment to the school!"

I felt a force on my cheek. A slapping sound echoed in the classroom. My cheek was stinging with pain. I put my hand up to my cheek, the same spot where Yamabuki Saaya had slapped me.

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**Yamabuki Saaya slapped Amu!? What will Amu do? Do I sense a cat fight coming up? Be sure to read the next chapter: Let's Go For a Walk. Until next time!**

**Please Review! *w***


	14. Chapter 13

**Hey guys, it's Anya! I give to you what is the longer chapter of Washed Away With the Rain so far! I like this chapter a lot, and I hope you do too! But my only conern is that I think that Saaya is a tad too mean compared to the Saaya in Shugo Chara. I say that, but then I think that if Saaya formed this complex about Amu when they were young, I think that it would've eventually grown into this. So anyways, please enjoy reading!**

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Chapter Thirteen

My cheek was stinging, and I was sure that it was turning red right about now. Saaya had a fierce element to her, and she looked as if she was going to go further than just a slap. I had never really been the best at physical combat, so I didn't exactly want to get too deeply involved in a fight with Yamabuki Saaya.

"Stop it, you two!" Nagihiko said as he got between us, facing Saaya with his arms outstretched. "Both fighting and bullying is against school rules, you two could get into serious trouble!"

I knew Nagihiko wasn't as serious as he may sound. He was actually really nice and he liked to have fun, too. Normally Nagihiko wouldn't go around forcing the school's rules on us, but I knew that it was just his way of trying to get us to stop. I appreciated his effort, but I knew that it wasn't going to work on Saaya at all.

"Get out of the way!" Saaya snapped. "This is between Hinamori Amu and me!"

Nagihiko was about to say something back when I said, "She's right, Nagihiko. This is between the two of us."

"Amu…" Nagihiko lowered his arms and turned around to face me with a worrisome look in his eyes. He closed them for a few moments, and when he opened them up, he said with confidence and trust, "I understand."

Saaya flipped her hair again and crossed her arms. She said with a determined tone, "So, you're finally fighting on your own? It's about time."

I put my hands on my hips. For some reason the stance gave me a little more confidence to speak what was on my mind which, when I was acting like I was cool, was very important. I really didn't like having to tell someone off or fight someone just because they started a rumor, but in this case since Saaya _was_ starting it… I guessed that I would have to make an exception.

"You sound really confident." I stated the obvious, trying to buy myself time for something to say. I honestly had no idea what I would say. Sometimes on dramas and such the main character, which I guess in this case would be me, always knew what to say. I could not ever be the main character of a drama; I had no idea what to say. I knew that Saaya was an egoist to the max, but I wasn't sure how I would bring her down. I could call her names and such, but nothing of the sort would work. I decided to try my best with the next statement, "Do you plan on having your daddy buy your way to my demise?"

I really wasn't too sure as to what I was expecting from Saaya. Somehow, and God knows how, this seemed to offend her. I was just trying to take my chance and say something that I despised about her. Without even knowing it, I rained on her parade, and the kids around me gasped. I began thinking of more things to say while I waited for her reply.

Saaya looked very angry at me. She snapped at me, her fist raised into the air, "What in the world would you know, you—"

"Okay everyone, take your seats!" The teacher came into the classroom at just the right moment.

I flooded with relief as Saaya growled at me and walked away with her groupies. Everyone took their seats, leaving me to think by myself during class. For fifth hour today, we had a basic Japanese grammar class. Although I was glad that we only had Japanese grammar once or twice a week, since it was so boring, I was exceptionally grateful for it today. Japanese grammar meant I could space out as much as I wanted, the teacher wouldn't even dare to call on me. He knew that I already knew everything.

Just when I thought the day was going to go by without another incident like the one at lunch, I realized just how wrong I was. It was Monday that day, and every Monday we had the same schedule. Monday meant that sixth hour was phys ed. And today it was raining, so in phys ed we would have to be inside the gym. Which meant…

"All right class! Today, girls will be playing volleyball and boys will be playing basketball!" The phys ed teacher, Aoki-sensei, explained. She had long black hair pulled back into two pigtails with purple hair ties, and she was wearing a red gym suit.

I slightly envied her. Aoki-sensei got to wear the red gym suit that we only got to wear during winter. Us students, on the other hand, had to wear the summer uniform since the weather was starting to warm up. Girls had to wear a white T-shirt, a pair of red bloomers, whatever socks you wore to school, and then a pair of white running shoes that are sold at the school's office. Boys had to wear a white T-shirt, a pair of blue shorts, the socks they wore to school, and then the same pair of white running shoes that the girls wore. The girls didn't really like the phys ed uniform, mainly just because of the bloomers. If us girls could wear the shorts, we would probably be a lot happier with our uniform.

I sat there on the bleachers with a small grimace on my face. Normally I enjoyed indoor phys ed, but today was just the worst day for it. I really didn't want to participate in phys ed that day, it was the last thing that I wanted to do.

"Kato-sensei," Aoki-sensei called over to the other phys ed teacher. Kato-sensei was an average middle-aged man with short black hair and hazel eyes. He wore the same phys ed uniform as the boys did, except his was a lot larger and his shorts were way longer. "Be sure to tell your class not to gang up on the underclassman!"

"Okay!" Kato-sensei replied while writing down something on his clipboard, not really paying attention. "Class, you heard her. Do what she says."

Everyone was sitting in the gym. Aoki-sensei and the girls of my class and class 3-B, Kuukai's class, were sitting on the left side of the room while all of the boys sat with Kato-sensei on the right side of the room. Once we took roll, they would dismiss us to go play our games. Last rainy day, boys played volleyball while the girls played basketball, so this time it was switched. I knew that Kuukai and Nagihiko would have fun playing basketball. Kuukai was captain of the basketball team and Nagihiko was the co-captain. They were both really skilled, so I envied them a little.

"All right, you can go split up into teams now! Try to make sure that you guys and the upperclassmen are split evenly." Aoki-sensei dismissed us.

The teams were pretty much split up when girls would run over to one of the two courts and choose whichever side of the court they wanted to play on. Two of the upperclassmen by the names of Ito-senpai and Nakamura-senpai, two members of the volleyball team, made sure that we were split up evenly and that we were playing correctly. Naturally the two senpai were on different teams, so it was an equal game on both parts.

I was on the team with two of Saaya's groupies. Saaya and her other two groupies were playing on the other team. I was quite nervous to be playing with them, but I tried not to let it get to me. If I was too busy worrying about them, then I would probably end up getting hurt.

Well, I got hurt anyways. Saaya and her groupies always set up the ball so it would hit me. It never really hurt, but it stung for a few moments. They would always apologize and say that their hand slipped or that their aim was a bit off. No one really seemed to notice, but I knew better than that. Saaya was on the volleyball team, so she was good at the game. During an actual match, she would never slip up and miss the ball.

"Hinamori! Get your head into the game!" Ito-senpai snapped at me. Ito-senpai hated losing, and I was afraid that if our team lost, she would blame it on me.

We continued playing the game. Saaya was having no luck hitting me anymore, for I was starting to hit the ball back over the net. I would have to twist and turn and sometimes I even fell down, but it was a lot better than being hit by Saaya. If I could keep this up for the rest of the game, then I would have at least some sense of victory.

My confidence was sure to die down soon. Only about ten minutes after I started playing hardcore I got really tired. I was sweating to no end and it felt as though I was going to collapse. The teams barely rotated out, so I was in the game for long periods of time. Ito-senpai and my other teammates realized how hard I was working to get the ball not to hit me, and I think that Ito-senpai finally picked up on Saaya's plan.

"Oi, Yamabuki! Try hitting the ball to somewhere other than Hinamori for once!" Ito-senpai snapped at her. Ito-senpai was the co-captain of the volleyball team, so she had some sense of power over Saaya. "I can tell you're doing it on purpose!"

Saaya flipped her hair and shot back, "Hinamori-san only told me that she wanted me to give her a workout in P.E. today. I'm doing nothing wrong."

If I wasn't completely out of breath, I would've gone over to the other side of the court and yelled my head off. Saaya was such a liar. The worst part was that Ito-senpai even believed her. The nerve of that girl! She made me sick. My blood was boiling, but I was too exhausted to fight back anymore.

Our team rotated, and I was now at the front left side of the net. One more rotation and I could finally rest. I decided to bear with it, I only had to play my hardest for a little while longer, and then I would be able to take a breather.

"Saaya-san," I said with a sweet voice. Saaya was right in front of me, so I spoke so that only she and I could hear. "Be sure not to go too easy on me, okay?" I stuck my tongue out at her, which seemed to offend her to no limit. She was gritting her teeth, and her eyes were burning a green flame.

"Service!" The girl on my team called out as she served the ball.

The ball went back and forth the court a few times, staying away from me for once. I was getting my break earlier than I had expected. I watched intently, it seemed like Ito-senpai and a few other girls on my team were keeping it away from me on purpose. I gained back a little of my energy, so I was able to hit the ball again.

"Hinamori, spike it!" The girl who was behind me hit the ball high up into the air.

I jumped up with determination; I was surely going to hit it this time. Though as I jumped up, I didn't notice someone was jumping up with me. I spiked the ball, and when I looked forward I could see Saaya's face in front of mine. She blocked the ball by spiking it straight down. Straight down where, you might ask? It went straight down into my face.

My weary body slammed onto the gymnasium floor. Everyone stopped playing the game, and the volleyball bounced repeatedly against the floor. Even some of the boys playing basketball stopped to stare at me. I was sitting on the ground with my hand covering my nose, blood was gushing out.

"Hinamori-san, are you okay?" Aoki-sensei came rushing up to me. My nose was in so much pain that it was beginning to feel numb. The rest of my face, however, was stinging from the blow. She knelt down beside me and asked to those around us, "Can someone take Hinamori-san to the nurse's office?"

I heard a familiar voice come from the boy's side. It said, "I'll take her!" I looked over to see Kuukai running up to me.

"Thanks, Souma-kun." Aoki-sensei thanked Kuukai and went back to tell Kato-sensei what had just happened.

"Hinamori, let's go." Kuukai helped me up, and we walked out of the gym.

We did not, however, leave the gym until I got another word in. We were passing by Saaya when I managed to say quietly so only she and Kuukai could hear me, "You suck at volleyball." That put quite the scar on her pride.

When we got there, the nurse was not present. The nurse was normally always there, so why was it, when I need her the most, she was gone?

Kuukai took out a chair for me to sit down on and went over the proper procedures for stopping a nosebleed with me. Head forward, don't tilt it back no matter what, and I had to pinch the soft part of my nose for ten minutes. Kuukai sat on the nurse's desk, while we waited for time to go by. I was surprised with Kuukai; I would think that he would make some comment upon me getting a nosebleed. However, he only sat on the nurse's desk and stared outside the window. He looked so serious at the time; I didn't want to disturb him.

"Yo, Hinamori," Kuukai broke the silence about two minutes in, although the two minutes seemed like thirty. "Have you ever been dumped before?"

I tried not to look up at Kuukai, not because I was nervous, but because I wanted my nosebleed to stop. The question seemed to sting me. "Define 'dumped.'" I told him, my voice sounded funny because I was pinching the bottom part of my nose.

Kuukai sighed and said, "When someone you love tells you that they don't love you anymore."

The sting remained. I had never really been dumped by a boy. I had only been dumped by one person, and that was my father. Judging from the way he acted, I knew that he didn't love me. His love for me was only there because my mother was alive; if not for her, he would've straight up told me that he hated me.

"I guess so." I replied.

"Who dumped you?"

"My father." I really didn't want to talk about my past. But it seemed that Kuukai wasn't going to stop asking me questions.

"Why?"

I know the question wasn't meant to offend me. But it still hurt. I replied bluntly, "I don't know."

"Are you sure he just wasn't angry?"

"I don't know." My voice was sounding fiercer. I really didn't want to be reminded of the incident, I just wanted to forget about it and leave it behind. If I didn't think about it, then it wouldn't hurt me.

"So is that why you're so distant from others?" Kuukai seemed like he still wanted to continue the conversation. I was happy when it was Kuukai who had offered to help me, and not one of Saaya's groupies or Saaya herself, but now I was regretting the fact that I let him help me.

I felt completely uncomfortable. I just wanted the conversation to end. "Leave me alone." I told him coldly.

"That's not fair to others." Kuukai stated.

I was getting bitter. What right did Kuukai have to be pushing into my personal business? It wasn't his place to stick his nose into. Yet, what he said heightened my curiosity. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He answered me, "Your heart was broken, so you decide to shut everyone out. It's not fair to those who want to get close to you."

"No one wants to get close to me, so it's no problem." I answered back.

"Well you haven't spoken to anybody, so you wouldn't know." Kuukai pointed out.

My blood was boiling. I wasn't sure if it was with rage at Kuukai or just frustration towards me. Either way, I labeled it as Kuukai's fault. If he hadn't brought up the conversation, then I never would've had to feel this way.

"You don't know how I feel, so just can it!" I snapped at him.

Kuukai got off of the desk and leaned over so he was just inches away from my face. He looked very angry someone, I couldn't really tell who. It didn't really seem like he was angry at me, his anger just seemed too distant. "Don't act like you're the only one who's ever had their heart broken."

My eyes widened. What did he mean by that? Kuukai straightened himself out and leaned against the nurse's desk. All signs of hostility seemed to be gone. This time, he seemed to be more sorrowful and kind. He stared outside the window, as if seeing something that I could never hope to see.

"Just before the new school term started, my girlfriend broke up with me." He told me. I didn't even ask him, but he probably knew that I wanted to know. "She was the first girl I ever really liked more than a friend. Yet, for some reason, she said that she had fallen out of love with me and wanted to end it. My heart was broken, and I thought that I would never retaliate."

"But you're so cheerful during school." I filled in the blank. "How'd you manage to move on?"

"A friend helped me." Kuukai answered. "He helped me realize that I couldn't get caught up over one little incident."

I was really curious about Kuukai's story, mainly because it got him off of my case. "Who was it?"

Kuukai looked over to me and said, "The girl or my friend?"

I replied back, "Both," since I really wanted to know.

"The girl is a first year in high school, her name is Hoshina Utau. The friend who helped me, his name is Hotori Tadase." Kuukai answered.

Hoshina Utau's name brought me into grave shock. Hoshina Utau was a famous idol known for her singing and modeling. She was a beautiful young woman, and her voice and appearance were both strong and confident. I didn't know of many celebrities, but I did know of Hoshina Utau. She was one idol that just about everyone was familiar with.

"I think I know why you've never retaliated." Kuukai looked back out the window. "You never had a friend to help you out, did you?" Kuukai looked right back at me. He had a warm smile on his face, and it made me want to believe that everything was right with the world. "I can't exactly stop the downpour, but if you don't mind, as your friend, I can join you for a walk in the rain."

I looked up at him, unable to resist it any longer. We looked at each other directly in the eye. The small speech was moving in some strange way. Kuukai had just offered to be my friend, and he practically said that he would help me get through the tough times. I really wanted to cry, not with tears of sorrow, but tears of happiness.

"Keep leaning your head forward!" Kuukai laughed at me, pushing my head back into the position it was before. "If you keep moving we'll have to be here all day!"

He laughed in a friendly way. And, for the first time in a long while, I laughed right along with him.

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**Amu laughed!?!? Say what? What will happen now as Kuukai offers to take her for a figurative walk in the rain? Find out in chapter fourteen: Friendship is The Exception. Until next time!**

**Please Review! *w***


	15. Chapter 14

**Hey guys, it's Anya! Sorry it's been so long since I've updated. I know I always say this, but school is just tiring me out and killing my inspiration. The only place I've advanced in the past week is beginning that whole "How to Get Over a Guy in 10 Steps" fanfiction which I'm even stumped on that. Therefore, I've decided that I'll be posting my chapters up in pairs. It's like a double feature! However, due to the fact that Document Manager isn't working right now (I can edit my chapters through my browser history) I can't upload Chapter 15. Sorry, but it'll be out as soon as Document Manager is working again! Enjoy!**

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Chapter Fourteen

The door for the computer club slammed open. Kuukai walked in, announcing through a megaphone, "Yo, computer club! We have a special announcement today!"

I walked in at this moment. My entire appearance said that I wanted to beat the living crap out of someone. Well, I did, I really wanted to beat the living hell out of Saaya, but I refrained from doing so. I glared at the computer club, trying not to focus my eyes on the white bandage on my nose. The volleyball had left a scratch, so after disinfecting it we had to apply a bandage on.

Kuukai looked like my emotional twin. He also looked pretty ticked off and dead serious. I had never really seen Kuukai like that before, it was kind of scary. Kuukai handed me the megaphone, and I put it up to my mouth. I spoke in an irritated monotone, obviously pissed off. "Yo, I have a bone to pick with you guys." The five members of the computer club stared at me in horror. There were three boys and two girls in the computer club. The three boys looked like your average nerds, but the two girls looked pretty average. They sat at two different desks. The three boys sat in front of three computers at the front desk and the two girls shared a computer at the back desk. They all had to turn their bodies to see me.

"W-what do you want?" One of the boys stammered. He had light brown hair cut like someone had just thrown a bowl on top of his head and followed the pattern. He had really light green eyes that were behind a pair of large circular glasses.

I cleared my throat and spoke through the megaphone again, "I believe that you're all familiar with Yamabuki Saaya, correct?"

My heart was pounding with nervousness. Despite how tough and confident I looked on the outside, the person on the inside of me was shaking at the knees. I never really knew how to talk to others, so I wasn't exactly the best at public speaking, especially when I was royally ticked off. If it weren't for Kuukai, I probably never would've taken matters into my own hands.

The computer club kids nodded. One of the girls from the club looked especially nervous, as if she were hiding something. I stared at her for a few seconds, and she immediately looked away. She was acting highly suspicious, and I thought that I could get information out of her easily.

"You," I pointed the megaphone at her as I talked into it, so she knew that I was talking to her. "Did you help Saaya hack onto the school's website?"

The girl was insanely cute, I'll give you that. She had shoulder-length perfectly straight brown hair pulled back with a pink headband and bright blue eyes. She looked extremely nervous, but she answered despite that. While looking away she replied, "N-no… I didn't…"

I really hated doing this, especially since she looked so sweet and innocent. However, I really had to find out who helped Saaya. If I at least knew who helped her I could probably report her to the principal or the school somehow. My first plan would have been to get revenge, but I knew better than that. Revenge always backfired, no matter who it was getting revenge. That was way Amu was going to teach Saaya a very important lesson, the lesson that hopeless bullying was never going to do her justice.

I walked up to the girl until the only thing between her and I was about ten centimeters of space and a megaphone. I turned down the volume so that it was absolutely screaming into her face, but so it was still loud enough. I repeated myself, "I'll ask you one more time: did you help Yamabuki Saaya?" The girl looked away as she was about to answer, but I interrupted her, "Look at me when you talk."

The girl seemed hesitant to look at me. I lowered the megaphone so she would have no reason to object. I mean, would _you_ want to talk into the wrong end of a megaphone? Though there was nothing between us, the girl still seemed hesitant. I waited for her reply, but nothing seemed to be getting to her.

"I won't be mad if you tell me yes." I finally decided to try and pull it out of her gently. Kuukai and I were pretty scary looking at that moment, and the megaphone didn't exactly help the cause, it was just a confidence booster. Anyone would be scared if two scary upperclassmen with a megaphone came in and started talking to you in an unfriendly tone. "I just want to know the truth."

After a few more moments, the girl looked me straight in the eye with a guilty look on her face. "I… I helped Yamabuki Saaya…"

I placed my hand on top of her head and rubbed it back and forth a little, as if she were a dog. I had the same straight look on my face and said, "See, that wasn't so hard was it?"

Kuukai and I were able to get the girl to take the picture off of the school website. It wasn't too hard to do, either. The website software that the school used was a simple copy and paste software, so all she had to do was click on it and click delete once she had hacked into the school's website account.

Once the picture had been taken off, I found myself more than relieved. I hoped that with this I could put Ikuto behind me once and for all. I know it sounded harsh, but I just didn't want him to get involved with me any further. For some reason, I had a feeling that if I went back to him I would just end up getting hurt again. My heart was reluctant, but my mind was in the game. I was going to end all of my ties with Ikuto, it was decided.

_"You'll change that soon enough."_

Ikuto's voice was ringing in my head. I shook my head back and forth to clear my mind of him. Besides, how could I change my mind? I was already set on one thing and one thing alone. Just because Ikuto may be a tad persuasive and a teensy weensy bit seductive, no way in heck would he ever be able to change my mind! No way! No way! No way! He didn't have the power to do that… did he?

_"You'll find out soon enough."_

I shook my head back and forth frantically as Ikuto's quote replayed in my mind. Actually, more than just the quote replayed in my mind. The _entire_ scene replayed in my mind over again. I could feel a blush spreading across my cheeks and I shook my head back and forth again.

"Yo, Hinamori, are you okay?" Kuukai broke my train of thought, thank goodness.

Blinking a few times to make sure that I was in reality, I looked over to Kuukai. I realized that I had just been spacing out for probably _much_ too long. I replied while shaking my hands back in forth, as if dismissing the idea of me not being okay, "Yeah, I'm fine! What were you saying just now?"

Kuukai raised an eyebrow as he replied, "I didn't say anything. Are you sure you're okay, Hinamori? Did Saaya scramble your brains when she hit you in the head?" Kuukai asked while pointing to his noggin.

I shook my head back and forth again and then said, "No I'm fine, really."

"Strange." Kuukai spoke so that I had no clue what he was talking about. Did he mean that I was strange or did he mean that I was acting strange… maybe something else? I tried not to get too worked up over it, and went back to the task at hand.

I strangely found myself asking, "So what are we supposed to do now?"

Kuukai put his hands on his hips and looked up to the ceiling as if he were thinking about something. I waited impatiently, I was in no hurry to get home, yet I had the feeling that I should be rushing. Though while I waited, I found myself thinking about how grateful I was towards Kuukai. He had just helped me get enough confidence to get the picture off of the school's website and he was helping me out a lot. Yet I had to wonder… why was he helping me in the first place?

"It's time…" Kuukai looked straight forward and said with a determined look on his face, "For an all sprint dash!"

I blinked at him in confusion and echoed, "An all sprint… dash?"

Kuukai thanked the computer club girl and grabbed my hand. Immediately he started sprinting at full speed, holding nothing back. I had never been too athletic, so I found myself struggling to keep up with him. We sprinted through the school's hallways until we were in the same room as the shoe lockers. Completely ignoring the fact that we were still wearing our indoor shoes, he ran straight outside and into the rain.

"You're going to get our indoor shoes dirty!" I snapped at him once we were getting soaked by the rain. I couldn't really think of anything else to say once we were beginning to get soaked by the rain. My clothes were clinging to my skin, and it didn't sit too well with me. Kuukai let go of my hand and turned around to face me with a huge grin on his face.

While pointing at me, Kuukai began laughing his head off. "You're one interesting girl, you know that?"

I grimaced at him. Did he really have the position to laugh at me and call me interesting? "What's that supposed to mean?"

While catching his breath, the sports star replied, "You just had what was probably one of the craziest days of your life and all you care about now is your indoor shoes."

As if my grimace couldn't get even bigger, I forced it downwards even more. I decided to change the subject, "Why'd you bring me out here, anyways?"

He shrugged nonchalantly and told me, "I said we would go for a walk in the rain, didn't we?"

My grimace lightened up a little bit. Kuukai was really a nice guy. I found my heart wavering again, not as much as Ikuto had made me waver but I was still wavering. So many nice people were out in the world, nice people like Kuukai. How could I not feel so strange when he was being so nice and supporting of me despite my terrible attitude. That's when I realized something.

I turned around and walked into the shoe locker room as I said, "I'm not going for a walk anywhere unless I have my shoes on."

Ignoring his hysterical laughter I walked up to my shoe locker. While changing shoes, I could feel my heart warming up. My cold, indecisive heart warmed up as I made a huge decision. Love and affection were things that I did not want at all. However, I decided to alter my previous statement and promise. I did not want love and affection by romantic or intimate terms. There was only one thing that I wanted love and affection from. I smirked to myself, finding my wonderful loophole. Until now, there had been no exception to my rule.

Mumbling so quietly that not even someone that was standing right beside me could hear, I stated aloud, "Friends are the exception."

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**Amu made an exception? Is her heart finally starting to open up? What will happen next as she and Kuukai deepend their friendship? Be sure to check out chapter fifteen: My Own Happiness! Until next time!**

**Please Review *w*  
(It gives me the inspiration to write more)**


	16. Chapter 15

**Hey guys, it's Anya! Today's chapter of Washed Away with the Rain was brought to you by the letter 'F.' This letter is awesome! It's even the first letter of my favorite word. Can you guess? It starts with 'F' and ends in 'uck.' That's right, you guessed it: Firetruck!**

**Any who, here's a disdisclaimer (in other words I'm claiming this):  
I mention a band in this chapter called DEMNO. DEMNO is 100% mine! The band members, their songs, their image, everything is mine! Don't steal DEMNO! It's a band from an original, future series that I'm writing, so no stealing! :[**

**Anyways, enjoy this upcoming chapter! And:**

**HAPPY BIRTHDAY TADASE-KUN!**

* * *

Chapter Fifteen

Over the past seven years, I only let myself slip up smiles when I saw that the weather forecast declared rain. It was a silly thing to hang on to, but it made me feel like I was somehow connected to the happier times of my past. The ritual made me feel like it was the same day that my mother had died along with my little sister, except that instead of my mother and little sister passing away, they would both live. Then, probably in a few days or so, we would all go home together and live a happy life. Yet despite my wishful thinking, I knew that it was never going to happen.

However, over the past three months, things have dramatically changed. My smiles were surfacing more and more often. If my cheeks hadn't adjusted so quickly I'm sure I would end up having a sore mouth every day. My life had never been better. I had friends and my heart was not feeling any hurt at all. Slowly, my heart was finding its limitations. Constantly I found myself challenging my heart to see how far it would go, though I never strayed out of friendship. As I stated before, friends are the exception. Friends are the one and only exception.

I had two people to thank for my happiness. One of them was definitely Kuukai. Kuukai reached out to me when no one else would, and he even helped me forget my worries for a moment. When I was next to Kuukai it felt like we could do anything together. Heck, if Kuukai asked me to, I would break the law with him. The outgoing, sporty, constantly laughing Kuukai was probably my best friend… _ever_.

The other person to thank for my happiness was someone I hadn't really expected to thank. After a long night of thinking, I realized that I truly had to thank him. Ikuto had played a big part in my happiness, although he didn't have a big part directly. Without knowing, Ikuto helped me meet my best friend. If it weren't for Saaya taking that picture of Ikuto and me, I never would have met Kuukai.

Okay, I guess that I have to thank Saaya, too. Although she hurt me and bullied me, if it weren't for her getting a hold of the picture and posting it up in the school and its website, I never would've spoken to Kuukai. So I guess I needed to thank three people for my happiness. One person helped directly, while the other two helped indirectly. Not a bad trade, if you ask me.

As I walked to the student council room, I found myself actually looking forward to lunch that day. Ever since that day that Kuukai and I took a walk in the rain, I had washed away some of my past emotions. Now at least once or twice a week I would eat lunch with Kuukai and the rest of the student council in the student council room. Thanks to Kuukai, I was now friends with Nagihiko, Yaya, Rima, and Tadase. Everyone had been so nice to me, and I felt so secure when I was with them. My heart could not have been ever more content.

"It's so hot!" I could hear Yaya complain as I entered the student council room. Yaya was lying back in her chair as if she were dead. Tadase was at the computer typing away busily, not taking too much notice. Nagihiko was making iced tea, fit for the hot season, and Rima was reading some manga in the seat opposite of Yaya. Kuukai was sitting next to Rima, his chin resting on the table.

Kuukai greeted me the minute I closed the sliding door behind me, "Yo, Hinamori!"

Everyone else seemed to take notice, too. "Hello, Amu-chan, would you like some iced tea?" Nagihiko asked as he poured the iced tea into some glasses. I nodded my head in reply and he smiled at me.

"Amu-chi, what's up?" Yaya was now sitting up-right; her usual grin was plastered onto her face.

From both Rima and Tadase, all I got was a quick, "Hello."

Tadase was probably busy finalizing some requests and making sure that everything was in place. Out of all of the times I had eaten in the student council room, Tadase had only taken a break probably once or twice. Rima, on the other hand, was just a poor speaker. She never really spoke much to anyone.

"It's really hot today." Yaya now had her chin resting on the table; my appearance had probably made her forget the heat for a moment. "Is it summer break yet?"

I took my seat besides Yaya while Nagihiko started passing out glasses of iced tea. He said with a warming smile, "We only have a few more days left, Yaya, be patient."

The date was currently Thursday, July 16th, 2009. Summer break officially started once school was over the upcoming Saturday. Afterwards we would have a peaceful six weeks without any school. However, we still had packets upon packets of summer homework. I was part of the smart portion; I did my summer homework once summer break began. However, the procrastinating portion of the student body would wait until the last day of break to do their homework, when what was really a small amount of homework would seem like loads.

"But it's so hot!" Yaya retorted. "Even the summer uniform isn't helping!"

In the middle May we changed into our summer uniforms. There wasn't too much of a difference. Boys would wear green plaid shorts and wear a short-sleeve white dress shirt while the girls would only change into a short-sleeve white dress shirt. Although it was refreshing to wear a little less clothing on the upper half of our bodies, we girls felt like we were getting the short end of the stick. Our skirts stayed the same length and we kept everything else pretty much the same.

"You can say that again!" Kuukai agreed with Yaya. I learned that Kuukai and Yaya were both rather childish, although Kuukai tended to keep his brotherly character intact while Yaya resorted to a babyish character.

Nagihiko took a seat at the head of the table where I had sat during my first visit at the student council room. I learned a lot about everyone during my visits to the student council room. Kuukai was what I thought he was: outgoing, sporty, brotherly, and insanely nice. Nagihiko was really nice, a great cook, and he normally had an optimistic personality, but sometimes Nagihiko could be quite fierce. Yaya was childish, baby-like, and overly hyper, but she was still a good friend and cared for everyone. Rima was the quiet one of the group. She preferred not to talk if she could help it. If anything, Rima was probably the one who wanted to speak her mind but refused to do so. Last but not least, Tadase was a very kind and strong person. He was always busy with student council work, but when he had his undivided attention in focus he was always very friendly and gentle with whomever he spoke to.

"Complaining won't help." Rima pointed out, using what was probably going to be one of her last sentences of the day.

"Rima-tan, doesn't the heat bother you at all?" Yaya asked, almost whining.

"A girl should not let the heat affect her." Rima stated while sipping the iced tea.

Nagihiko and I laughed half-heartedly. Rima was always so matter-of-factly and down to earth. Sometimes it was quite scary how much she resembled Ryuu-san. The way she talked about manners and the way a young lady should act almost mirrored Ryuu-san.

"Oh yeah, I have something to ask all of you." Nagihiko remembered after taking a sip of tea. We all looked over at him, including Tadase, to hear what he had to say. "Awhile back I entered a raffle for free tickets to a concert and I won. I was wondering if you all wanted to go on Saturday night."

Yaya echoed his statement, "A concert?" She was standing up now with her hands placed firmly on the table, energy waves were pouring out of her. "Who's playing?"

He replied, "Some new band called DEMNO. They're doing a world tour, so they'll be in town on Saturday night."

"DEMNO, who are they?" I found myself asking. I had never heard of the band before. Actually, I wasn't too up-to-date on music or celebrities or movies. In fact, I could care less about that kind of stuff.

Everyone turned heads this time. "You've never heard of DEMNO before?" Yaya gasped.

"They're at the top of the charts!" Kuukai added on.

"They've already released a CD, and it was a hit." Rima stated matter-of-factly. Wow, even Rima knew about DEMNO.

"Didn't their CD sell over a million copies?" Tadase added on, completely unfocused towards his work.

I gulped, "Are they really that famous?"

Yaya went over to the computer where Tadase was sitting and started typing in rapidly. She turned around the monitor and pointed at a picture. The picture, from what I could see, was a blur of maroon and black. I walked up to the computer screen to get a closer look.

"Look, this is DEMNO!" Yaya pointed at the picture. The picture had five columns. In the first two columns there were pictures of a boy and a girl, in the third column the band's name was written vertically, and in the last two columns there were pictures of another boy and girl. "This is Ren, Ali, Hally, and Nate."

I looked at the picture a little more. The first column was of Ren, a strong looking man about twenty-one years of age or so. He had short, spiky brown hair and medium brown eyes. In the next column was Ali, a girl with long, wavy blonde hair and hazel eyes. In the fourth column was Hally, a girl with long black hair and sparkling aqua eyes. Last but probably not least, was Nate, a boy with black hair cropped into many layers and brown eyes so dark that they were almost black. Only part of each person was shown, their face and their torso. Hally was wearing a black tank top with lace around its edges while Nate was wearing a black T-shirt with the bands logo on it in maroon. Ali and Ren wore the same thing, except that their tops were in a maroon color.

"How cool…" I mumbled, mainly to myself. The band members truly did look cool. In fact, they looked indescribable. They all wore such serious expressions and the colors of the picture seemed to mellow everything down. Plus, they were all insanely good-looking.

"Uh… Yaya…" Tadase smiled awkwardly. He had been working and he needed the computer back. Yaya looked over to Tadase and, with her cheeks blushing, she turned the computer around.

Mellowing down immediately she said, "S-sorry, Tadase…"

I raised an eyebrow. Yaya stuttered? Better yet, Yaya was blushing? I watched as she walked back to her seat next to me. I knew that Yaya was childish, so maybe she was just embarrassed? No… little kids don't get embarrassed easily. So maybe Yaya… I shook my head to dismiss the thought; there was no way, right?

"Anyways," Nagihiko cleared his throat, trying to change the subject. "It's this Saturday and I got enough tickets for everyone to go. Are you guys interested?"

"Yaya definitely wants to go!" Yaya punched a fist into the air, obviously trying to forget her previous encounter with Tadase.

Kuukai's head was still resting on the table as he replied, "I'm up for it."

Rima answered, "My parents wouldn't allow it."

Tadase was busily typing at the computer while he said, "I'd be glad to go."

I realized that I was the only person left. The answer that Ryuu-san would give me was still completely unknown, since I had never asked her to go to one of these things. Normally she would butt out of my business, but who knows? Maybe Ryuu-san will tell me that a young girl shouldn't be surrounded by a bunch of strangers in a crowded, sweaty room.

"I'll have to ask." I replied curtly.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"I don't have a problem with it." Ryuu-san's reply took me completely off guard.

Ryuu-san and I were sitting in her car while she drove me to school. Since Ryuu-san's hours were getting busier and busier, I had been seeing less and less of her. The only time I saw her was during the mornings when she dropped me off at school. I decided to ask her in the car, since that way I could have a direct response. Besides, I thought that Ryuu-san would respect me a little more if I confronted her in person.

"Thanks." I replied curtly, trying not to show too much happiness. I don't know why, but I was always reserved around Ryuu-san. My outer shell was put up when I was around her for some reason.

On the inside, however, I was jumping up and down. I was going to my first concert! Plus, I was going with Kuukai, Nagihiko, Tadase, and Yaya! It was going to be so much fun! My heart was fluttering as I stared out the window at blurry figures passing by. Lately, I found myself becoming happier. Perhaps life was actually looking up for once.

* * *

**Amu can go to the concert! Yay! Is life really looking up for Hinamori Amu? Be sure to watch out for the newest chapter: Win vs. Fail. Until next time!**

**Please Review *w*  
If you guys review, chapters will be released faster!  
(Remeber:  
reviews = inspiration  
inpiration = more chapters)**


	17. Chapter 16

**Hey guys, it's Anya! Sorry that I haven't updated for awhile (I should be saying that about my other three fanfiction... hehe... .), but I've been really inspiration dead. I had a hard time figuring out how to get Amu to the oncert and such, and I ended up writing this chapter about five times. This is the best I could come up with to get her to the concert, and I hope you guys enjoy it! Also, some people were talking about how they missed Ikuto. I miss him too! But don't worry, he'll be back soon!**

**Important:  
I have a lot of ideas for this fanfiction and my other fanfiction, but I have a huge geometry exam that will take part on Wednesday and Thursday. I have to study really hard, because this exam is one of my two chances to get my 10 credits for the past year I've spent in geometry. So once Thursday passes I'll have spring break and I'll be able to write a ton! So hopefully I'll be able to get all four of my fanfiction updated then!**

**CLAIMER:  
I own DEMNO, their songs, and the band members! DEMNO is a pure creation of myself, so don't go stealing them!**

**Sorry for the long intro, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter Sixteen

"Yo, Ikuto!" Akatsuki ran up from behind and put his arm around Ikuto. Ikuto felt his heart sink a bit; Akatsuki's hyper activity was something he could never seem to get used to. If that was so, why were they best friends?

"What do you want, Akatsuki?" Ikuto asked with a bitter tone while closing his eyes.

Akatsuki cleared his throat and explained quickly, "There's going to be a concert tonight, want to come?"

Ikuto gently pushed Akatsuki's arm off of his shoulder and opened his left eye to look at Akatsuki. He asked, "Who's playing?"

Shuffling excitedly through the messenger bag Akatsuki always carried around to hold various things, he answered, "It's a new band made up of four people. They're about our age, except one's a year older and the other is three years older." After rambling on he pulled out four tickets and said, "They're called DEMNO. I heard they're supposed to be an awesome band."

Opening up both of his eyes, he got a better look at the tickets. The tickets were maroon with black, English calligraphy letters that stated the band's name with a white stub on the end which stated the time, place, and date.

Raising his left eyebrow he replied, "So you want to go see a band that you've never heard of before?"

"Nami said they're supposed to be an awesome band!" Akatsuki stated, referring to his girlfriend.

Ikuto sighed and replied, "So is Nami coming?"

"Yup!" Akatsuki replied with a large, goofy smile on his face.

A question popped into Ikuto's head, he asked, "Who's the fourth ticket for, then?"

"Don't know." Akatsuki replied. "Do you have anyone you want to invite?"

A face popped into Ikuto's mind, the face of a young girl with honey colored eyes and bubble gum pink hair with a bored expression on her face. Though the thought was tempting and the opportunity had arisen, he decided it would not be the best idea to invite her. For one thing, she was only thirteen and it would be odd to have three eighteen year olds and one thirteen year old, especially since Akatsuki and Nami might look at him as a pedophile. Another problem was that she would probably never agree to it. The teenager was one of the coldest people he had ever met, next to himself.

"No not really." Ikuto replied in his apathetic tone.

"What about that girl from the hospital?" Akatsuki thought aloud. "What was her name… her name was Amu-chan or something, right? You two seem to be pretty close."

Ikuto closed his eyes and sighed. He replied, "Akatsuki, I barely know the girl. Plus, she's only thirteen. Just tell Nami to bring one of her friends."

As if he were thinking, Akatsuki's eyebrows drew closer together. His eyebrows went back to normal and he gave a huge goofy smile. He agreed, "All right. I'll pick you up at about six thirty, okay? See you then!"

Akatsuki ran off again. Ikuto sighed as he watched his friend leave. Ever since he had gotten his cast taken off back in the end of April he had been ecstatic and twice as hyper than before the accident ever since. Ikuto let a small frown cross his face. It had been about three months since he had last seen or talked to Amu. He began wondering whether or not she was okay and if she was smiling more often. The last three times he had met with her she had only smiled once, and that was over seven years ago.

Grimacing at himself, Ikuto tried to get his mind off of Amu. He was eighteen; she was thirteen. The five year age gap was too big for them. Besides, why was he thinking about these kinds of things? He could have any girl he wanted in the blink of an eye. Why did this little thirteen year old girl concern him so much? He turned around in the opposite direction in which Akatsuki had run off in and began walking.

That night was going to be a long night.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~

"Yoo-hoo, Amu-chi!" An excited Yaya greeted me. I was extremely excited for the concert, and it seemed like the members of the student council were excited, too.

"Hey." I greeted the student council as I approached them.

It was strange seeing everyone in average street clothing. Nagihiko and Tadase dressed in a casual, yet sophisticated manner; Kuukai dressed in sporty, everyday apparel; and Yaya dressed in a stylish, yet somehow child-like style. I, on the other hand, was dressed in my usual gothic-like attire. Everyone looked so different out of their uniforms, it was strange to see.

"The concert looks like it's about to start, shall we go inside?" Tadase offered. I never really realized until now, but Tadase always looked somewhat tired. Being the student council president in elementary school never seemed to make him this tired, but now it seems like the student council work in middle school was a lot harder.

We had met right outside the entrance to the concert. There were all sorts of people here. There were parents, small children, teenagers like us, people in their early twenties, and so on. It was so amazing that DEMNO had such an audience. They seemed to be a really cool band, and they must sound good if they could attract this kind of diverse crowd. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that I hadn't listened to any of their songs yet?

Inside the concert hall we immediately came into contact with tons of stands. Food stands, souvenir stands, and a stand where you could buy the band's latest album. Once again we were met by a crowd of people of all ages. I was surprised that this many people were into the same band.

"Amu-chan, are you okay?" Nagihiko waved his hand in front of my face.

I blinked a few times and replied, "Yeah, just a little overwhelmed."

Nagihiko chuckled, "You've never been to a concert before. Have you?"

I shook my head and said, "No, this is my first."

We decided not to get food and walked over to the entrance of the area where the concert would actually be taking place. The man checked our tickets, and told us that we need to hold on to them if we want a chance at win anything from the raffle. We took our seats which were right in the middle of a huge auditorium. The rows of seats elevated upwards so that everyone could get a good view, and the seats seemed like they would never end. When we had finally taken our seats it was about seven fifteen; the concert started at eight.

While we waited, Yaya spoke excitedly to Tadase. It really seemed like the two made a cute couple. Yaya was very hyper and childish, while Tadase was very patient and kind. The two matched each other well. Nagihiko and Kuukai ended up talking about the latest basketball game. It seems that our school's team won by a landslide. I was sitting by myself most of the time, listening to everyone's conversations. Somehow, it was pretty fun just to watch people interact. Since I was planted right in-between Yaya and Kuukai, I was able to listen to both conversations without much of a problem.

Eventually, I hoped that I would be able to speak comfortably with others like how Yaya can speak with Tadase and how Nagihiko can speak with Kuukai. Sometimes it made me feel a bit lonely, the way that I chose my loner lifestyle awhile back, but I had seemed pretty content up until recently. My heart began feeling warm as I thought of how eventually I would have close friends and we would go to concerts and have fun on the weekends. It sounded like a lot of fun.

"Ladies and gentlemen," I looked up to the stage, taken aback by the male voice that was echoing throughout the auditorium. Before I knew it, the forty-five minutes had already passed and the concert was already starting. "I would like to present to you: DEMNO!"

Four people walked out onto stage while the audience began screaming and shouting. I saw the four band members just as they looked on the picture that Yaya had shown me. Except now I could see their entire bodies. Hally was the shortest of the group, and she looked like she was only fifteen years old, but she was actually about eighteen. She was wearing the same top as she wore on the picture I saw of her with a maroon double ruffle skirt with black lace around the edges, a pair of mid-thigh high black socks, and a pair of black hiking boots. Ali was the second shortest of the group, but she actually looked like she was eighteen. She was wearing the same attire as Hally, except that she wore the opposite colors of Hally. The black parts of Hally's outfit were the maroon parts of Ali's outfit and the maroon parts of Hally's outfit were the black parts of Ali's outfit. Ren was the tallest of the entire group, and he looked like he was a lot older than twenty-one years old. He was wearing the same top that he had in the picture with black skinny jeans and a pair of maroon sneakers. Nate was in-between Ali's and Ren's height, and he was wearing the same top from the picture with a pair of maroon skinny jeans and a pair of black sneakers. All of the band members look really cool.

"Hi everyone, how are you guys tonight?" Hally spoke into the microphone with confidence and happiness. Her voice sounded like cheerful chimes rather than just words. She was standing at the front of the stage while Nate stood to her left with his black guitar, Ali stood to her right with her white bass, and Sean sat in the back with his black and maroon drum set. I may be giving a late observation, but it seemed that their band colors were maroon and black.

With her words, the crowd went off into a set of cheers. Different things like confessions of love and wishing them good luck could be heard from the audience. If I were up there, I would definitely be blushing, but Hally seemed to be used to it.

"Are you guys ready to hear some music?" Nate spoke into his microphone this time; his voice was scratchy, making his voice sound really cool. He seemed to be filled with even more confidence than Hally was. Once again the crowd went into an uproar. Girls were squealing cheers and confessions of love to Nate as he stood there with his smile of confidence.

"All right, let's get started!" Hally smiled brightly and punched one fist into the air.

Ren began a countdown with his husky voice, "Three."

Ali continued the countdown with a voice that was very cool and sophisticated, "Two."

Then all of the band members said together, "One."

As Ali began the song with her bass, Sean followed about ten seconds afterwards, beating his drums rhythmically. They were into a pretty solid tune when Nate finally joined them in with his guitar. They all looked so focus on what they were doing. Hally closed her eyes once the music had started, and she seemed to be intently focused on getting the beat just right. Once a certain string was brushed on Nate's guitar, she opened her eyes and began to sing.

_My heart is like ice_

_I never meant to be so mean_

_Especially when you were so nice_

_My heart has been wavering_

_It can't find a steady beat_

_For love was never my thing_

_It was like it gave me no choice_

I was taken aback by the lyrics. They seemed to speak out and relate to me so well. Lately my heart had been wavering, and it seemed as if I had no choice because of my wavering heart. It was amazing how the song seemed to speak out to me. Even the chorus was symbolic to my emotions.

_I left you_

_For the starless night_

_My life has spiraled downward_

_I swear this isn't life_

_Where are you?_

_Where did I go?_

_I wish I hadn't paid this price_

_For now I know_

_What I couldn't easily show_

Hally's voice was truly angelic. It was singing with such passion and it seemed like she was trying to get a message across. Was she also feeling like this? Am I not the only one who feels like this?

_You were always there for me_

_But never me for you_

_How could this be?_

_There was nothing I could do_

_I refused to believe it_

_I had never once felt like this_

_Until I met you_

A face popped into my mind at that moment. It was the face of an eighteen year old male with navy blue hair that was chopped into all sorts of neat, yet messy layers and deep sapphire eyes. Ikuto? Why was my mind thinking of Ikuto at this time?

The chorus kicked in again, giving me time to think. Why was I thinking about Ikuto? It's not like I had any connection with him that would lead me to think about him. I hadn't thought about him in the past three months, so why was I thinking about him now?

_Why must I be this way?_

_Love is all I want_

_Yet it's what I fear the most_

_No way_

_Not in hell_

_I cannot believe myself_

_What will I do?_

As the chorus began playing again, I felt myself feeling sort of bad about what I did with Ikuto. He truly had done nothing wrong, so why was I shutting him out? He helped cheer me up when I was six years old, he gave me a shoulder to cry on back in the beginning of April, and he even gave me a place to stay when my father randomly showed up. So, if he was being so kind to me, why was I being so cruel to him? The song corresponded to how I felt about Ikuto in so many different ways. And as the chorus began to play through a second time, I realized that this song represented how I was feeling. I was wavering, the promise I made so many years ago had been wavering. I thought that I had finally found out what I had been feeling when the last line of the song played:

_I've fallen in love with you_

Anger slightly rose up within me. No way in hell was I in love with Tsukiyomi Ikuto. Now I was positive why I was pushing Ikuto away. He was an eighteen year old pervert who chased after thirteen year old girls. No way in the world was I going to be friends, fall in love with, or having anything to do with a guy like that!

A few more songs played, and I had forgotten about my dilemma with the first song that the band had played. It was when their tenth song was over, that Hally began speaking again.

"Well, the first half of our show seems to be over." She announced, while moans of how they didn't want the concert to end echoed throughout the audience. "But now, I have to announce that we'll be having a raffle!" This seemed to cheer people up. The audience began cheering again, and two men dressed in all black brought out a machine that had seven small black screens on it. "Thank you." Hally thanked the men quickly as they left the stage. "Ren, would you like to tell everyone what they'll be winning?" Hally slipped her microphone out of the stand and looked back to the drummer.

As if he were reluctant, Ren came out from behind the drum set and took the microphone from Hally. He said in a cool, husky voice, "Five people will win an mp3 player."

"That's right!" Hally spoke cheerfully as if she were a game show host. When I thought about it, the Hally that was speaking seemed different from the Hally who sang the songs about heartache and trying to move past obstacles. "Five lucky winners will win an mp3 player with the band's logo on it and all of the songs from our two albums will already be downloaded onto it. That's a total of twenty songs!"

Once again, cheers were sent throughout the crowd. A lot of people seemed like they wanted to win. I didn't really mind whether or not I won, especially since I wasn't a real fan of the band. Some people here were completely dedicated to this band, coming to every show and buying all of their CDs.

"Ali, do you want to call out the numbers?" Hally looked over to the bassist.

Ali walked up to the machine and Hally handed her the microphone. Hally pressed a button on the top of the machine and the seven small screens flashed. "Everyone, be sure to take out your tickets and see if your numbers correspond with the numbers here. If you won an mp3 player, come backstage before the second half of the show and present your ticket to them." Ali explained in a sophisticated monotone.

The numbers on each screen swirled in a bright green. While the numbers were swirling I took out my ticket and looked at the numbers: _24-527-14_. The numbers seemed pretty random, so I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to win.

Hally pressed the button again and the number 3 popped up. I didn't bother to listen to the rest of the numbers, since I obviously wasn't going to win. The second time, the first number was the number 2, but the second number was also the number 2. Once again, I was positive that I wasn't going to win. It wasn't until the fourth time, that I began to get hopeful.

Ali called out the first number, "Two." Hally pressed the button again and Ali called out the second number, "Four." I looked down at my ticket, two numbers in a row was a new thing. The next number was called out, "Five." My heart skipped a beat. I was getting too hopeful; I knew I wasn't going to win. Ali called out the fourth number, "Two." I felt my heart beating faster and my palms began getting sweaty. I was sort of excited now. I wanted to win. The next number was called, "Seven." My mind was focusing on my ticket, making sure that the numbers were correct. As Ali called the next number, I got excited, "One." My mind was shouting out the number four. I wanted to win so badly. It would be a token of my first concert ever. "Four" was the last number called.

My heart almost stopped. I couldn't believe that I actually won the mp3 player. It was probably something silly to get excited over, but I just couldn't help it! I had never won anything in a raffle my entire life, so this was quite exciting for me.

"Hinamori, did you win?" Kuukai looked over at my ticket, since he noticed that I wasn't paying attention anymore.

"Oh… yeah…" I shuffled nervously, not so sure what to do.

"That's great, Amu-chan!" Nagihiko smiled at me. I looked down at my ticket; Nagihiko _did_ win these tickets in the first place. Didn't he really deserve the mp3 player?

"Nagi, do you want the mp3 player? These were originally your tickets after all…" I really regretted saying that, but it seemed like I would be acting selfish if I didn't.

Nagihiko shook his head and replied, "You won it, Amu-chan. You should probably hurry up and get your prize before the second half starts."

My brain dinged. I had completely forgotten. Then I realized something that was pretty important. "But I don't know how to get backstage…"

Kuukai stood up and said, "I'll take you. Hinamori, let's go."

I shook my head and we walked through the crowd of people. Their eyes were on us, since they probably realized that either Kuukai or I had won. Some people were saying that I was lucky and that they wished they had won, which I actually agreed with. I _was_ lucky. In this stadium filled with thousands of people, I was one of the five people who had won.

Kuukai and I walked through the lobby which we had entered through. I could see another girl walking over towards the place which I thought was the backstage area. She looked like she was about seventeen years old or so. I was amazed that only five people had won the mp3 player, and that she and I were two of them.

"Why couldn't Nami get the mp3 player herself?" I heard a familiar voice ask.

"She wanted to talk with Hikari about something in private. Besides, I don't really mind. I need to get up and move around, anyways." _Another_ familiar voice replied.

"And I had to come because?" The other voice asked in an annoyed tone.

I looked over to my right. A little further ahead of me I could see the backs of two familiar heads. One was covered with brown hair and the other was covered with navy blue hair. It was two people whom I thought I wouldn't seem for a long time. That's right, they were the two eighteen year old boys, one who had sent my heart on a wavering journey and the other one who was his best friend: Ikuto and Akatsuki.

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**Gasp! Akatsuki and Ikuto are at the concert and they're going backstage, the same place that Amu is going! What will Amu do when she crosses paths with the two boys? Stay tuned for chapter seventeen: My Wavering Heart.**

**Please Review! *w*  
I really need reviews to keep me going!**


	18. Chapter 17

**Hey guys, it's Anya! I'm so sorry I haven't been updating! I've felt like such total crap lately. I would go to school, come home, and find myself completely exhausted and I would always have a giant headache. I'm also in my second week of taking exams (the 6th and 7th graders only have one week, but 8th graders such as myself have two weeks) and we have an hour and a half of exams plus regular classes plus homework. It seriously sucks! But I'm definitely going to try writing more since from here on out school should be a lot more relaxed, but I have a lot of events in the first half of June because I'm getting promoted this year so don't expect updates then.**

**Anyways, I started a small side project which I would love for someone to beta read and help give me advice on. It's only a side project, and I only work on it when I'm totally stumped and need something to do. My other projects, "The True Embryo" and "The Academy of Light and Darkness" will be put on hiatus until I finish up this fanfiction (this probably won't have more than 25 chapters).**

**Well, sorry the intro is long and the chapter is short, but I wanted to post something up today! Enjoy!**

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Chapter Seventeen

Tsukiyomi Ikuto! What was he doing here? Even worse, Akatsuki was with him! With that whole three month separation from him, I had almost completely forgotten about him. So why was it that he was here now?

My pace involuntarily slowed down until I had completely stopped. Kuukai looked back at me with curious eyes, which made me scan my mind for an excuse. While scanning my mind, I almost didn't hear him ask, "Hinamori, what's up?"

I felt my mind go blank. What was I supposed to say? While my mind searched for its on button I tried buying time by saying, "It's just that…" As if I hit a landmine, I said, "I have to go to the restroom!"

Kuukai's eyebrows pulled themselves together as he asked, "Can't you hold it for a few minutes? All you have to do is claim an mp3 player…"

I could feel my heart pounding, and the pulse in my head went along with it. My mind went blank again, but I managed to think of an idea. I replied, "Uh, Kuukai, do you think you could go claim it for me? I _really_ have to go!"

With a grimace, he replied, "Hinamori, this is practically a once-in-a-lifetime deal here. Just get the prize. How often will you be able to go to a concert with probably over five thousand people and be one of five people to win an mp3 player?"

My heart sunk as I realized that this wasn't getting anywhere. Forcing a smile on my face, I caved, "Okay. Let's go then."

We continued to walk over to the entrance to backstage. Ikuto and Akatsuki were now out of sight, so I couldn't see them as we neared the entrance. However, I knew that we would run into them eventually. Kuukai and I walked in silence; I wasn't too sure if I was supposed to say anything.

We walked up to two large double doors that Kuukai swung open. It seemed that we were the last ones to arrive there. Standing there, we could see five people already gathered. There was the girl from earlier, a boy about twelve years old with dark green hair and glasses on the bridge of his nose, a young lady probably in her twenties, and then there was Akatsuki and… Ikuto.

The lead singer was also standing there with the guitarist, both were holding mp3 players. Hally held three of the mp3 players while Nate held the other two, they both seemed so cheerful. Although, something inside of me told me that they weren't showing their true selves.

"Okay, now that everyone's here, please show one of us your ticket and you can get your mp3 player!" Hally spoke with a bright smile on her face.

I decided that I would be the last one to receive an mp3 player; I thought that I could go unnoticed that way. It wasn't until I realized that Akatsuki and Ikuto were also waiting to be one of the last people to receive their mp3 players that I knew my plans were futile. Once the other three had received their mp3 players I walked up to Hally to show her my ticket.

"Congratulations on winning!" Hally spoke with a large grin on her face as she checked my ticket. She smiled as if she were reminiscing in her past and asked me, "You don't talk much, do you?"

I felt two pairs of eyes on me. I realized that they were the eyes of two unwanted people, Ikuto and Akatsuki. Apparently they had been talking with Nate, so they had the chance to notice me. I looked down as Hally handed me my mp3 player, not too sure on what I was supposed to say.

"That's Hinamori for you." Kuukai said with a goofy grin. "She doesn't like to talk much."

Hally looked over at Kuukai and then at me, as if she were remembering something sweet. She said with a chuckle, "Believe it or not, I used to be like that."

I looked up at her. I never really expected someone as cheerful as her to be quiet like me. I'm not sure if it was because she was shy, but she seemed to relate to me.

"What's this?" Nate leaned over to Hally with a playful grin on his face. "You actually used to be shy?"

Hally raised an eyebrow as she said, "I wasn't really shy; I just didn't like speaking my mind is all."

Nate replied teasingly, "If you were shy as a kid, it's okay to admit it."

I looked at the two as they began to go back and forth. I was curious as to what made Hally change into this wonderful person she was now. She seemed so happy with herself as she was now, so why couldn't I do that? Why was I always so distant from others? Then, a question popped into my mind.

"Excuse me," I spoke up, and Hally's and Nate's eyes darted back to me. I asked, "Are your parents still alive?"

Her expression froze as she looked at me. She took a deep breath and replied, "No, I'm afraid not."

My mind was whirling around with my heart. I couldn't believe anything that I was hearing. Someone who was in a similar situation to me could be so perky, happy, and loving. Why was it that I had to be so distant from others? Hally seemed so happy the way she was, so why was I so unhappy? My heart shut itself down, and I wasn't too sure if I was doing the right thing anymore.

"Thank you…" I gave a forced smile and walked off with Kuukai. I'm not too sure what happened to Ikuto and Akatsuki, my focus was completely taken off of them.

We were in the middle of the lobby when I realized that I had told Kuukai that I needed to go to the restroom. In order to keep up my consistency, I told him to go back to the seats without me and that he didn't need to wait for me.

When I entered the restroom I immediately splashed my face with water. When I realized that my head was still cloudy, I did it again and again. My face was dripping wet when I finally realized that I was getting nowhere. My head started spinning, and I wasn't too sure what was what anymore. It felt as if a drill had just plowed through my head; all I wanted to do was lie down and sleep.

I grabbed a few paper towels and lied them down in one spot next to the sink. I sat down on top of them with my back against the wall. Taking deep breaths, I tried to calm myself down. I closed my eyes and tilted my head backwards while trying to think of something else.

My world had just ended. Or at least, it seemed like it. I didn't know whether or not I had been wrong to shut everyone out of my life. I tried not to keep myself so close to others so my heart wouldn't ache anymore. I tried anything and everything just so my heart wouldn't feel that pain I had felt seven years ago.

So why? Why didn't anything work? I was extremely unhappy and I always felt so lonely. I would always tell myself that I was right and that I was following the right path. If I had truly disliked the situation I had been in, why was it that it took me so long to realize that I hated everything I had been doing?

Tears threatened to spill. I constantly rubbed my sleeve against my eyes, trying to erase them. Eventually my eyes started to sting from the constant rubbing and my throat was swelling with sorrow. So I did it. I let my tears spill. No one was around to see me cry, no one could say that I was being weak.

I curled up into a ball and sobbed like a girl who had just had her heart broken, which, in a way, did resemble me. My entire body was hot and shaking. The steaming tears sprinting down my face hadn't helped the situation, either. However, despite how hot I was feeling I didn't want to leave. If I went outside then I chanced seeing Kuukai or… well, I guess you know who.

Then I realized that if I stayed any longer, I chanced Yaya coming in and catching me in tears. As if they had the perfect timing, my tears immediately came to a halt. I patted my eyes down with my sleeve and took out my phone with an idea popping into mind. I began typing in an e-mail to Kuukai saying that something important had come up and that I needed to leave immediately.

Without even waiting for a reply from Kuukai, I got up and swung open the door. I was just about to storm out of there when I clashed into a body with a temperature much cooler than mine. I looked up and saw the exact opposite of what I wanted to see.

Tsukiyomi Ikuto.

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**Tsukiyomi Ikuto!?!? (Tadase moment, lol)**

**What will Amu do, as she has run into her arch nemesis, Tsukiyomi Ikuto! Wait... this isn't about Tadase, it's a fanfiction about Amu! But what _will_ Amu do when she has to talk to Ikuto? Until next time!**

**(Please Review, it definitely helps!)**


	19. Chapter 18

**Hey guys, it's Anya! Long time no see, eh? I know I haven't really posted anything in awhile, and that this is also a very short chapter, but I'm trying my very damned best. I've also started a website for those of you guys looking for updates (and some extras as well) on my fanfiction. I'm not making the site because I think I'm so awesome I need my own site, but I'm getting reviews and private messages on how I need to hurry up and update and how everyone wants a new chapter, etc. etc. So check it out my site for summaries, breakdowns, extras, and updates on both my fanfiction and my original fiction.**

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Chapter Eighteen

"Yo." The single syllable rolled smoothly off his tongue as I stared up into his stolid gaze.

My heartbeat quickened and I could feel myself getting a little light headed as the blood from my face drained itself. What was wrong with me? Was it just the heat or was I going mad? Whatever it was, it made me feel as though my presence was absent.

"What's wrong?" Though normally this question would be filled with concern for the other person, his voice remained apathetic as he spoke. He stated, "You look pale."

I couldn't speak. My head was spinning and a ball was sitting at the top of my throat. At the moment, I was no longer human. I had no legs, no arms, no body; I was something else. My mind was hovering by itself; no physical features bound me to this world. I was free to leave.

"Oi!" His voice called to me. His voice was muffled by the nonexistent cotton balls that were stuffed into my ears. I could have sworn he said something else, but alas my cotton ball ears could not pick it up. My body swayed around as my vision slowly pixilated to a black nothingness.

"Ikuto…" I mumbled his name –barely able to hear my own voice— as I felt my spirit crash downwards.

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Ikuto grumbled as he walked down the darkened street. Normally on a summer night like this he would be freezing, however he had a furnace on his back. He looked back at the panting girl who had passed out only ten minutes before; he had barely been able to catch her before she had been able to crash to the ground. He guessed he heat had gotten to her head. There were a lot of people in the concert hall and many of them were moving around.

As he reached a street corner he felt a light shining right above him. He looked over to the street sign, only to realize that he had no idea where he was going. Completely speechless, he tried to remember where Amu lived. Sure, he had been there before, but finding her house previously was only by chance. All he had to do was run around the part of town closest to her school –he learned what school she went to by observing her uniform— and easily enough he could hear her and her father shouting at the top of their lungs. This time, however, it would not be so easy.

_You cause me so much trouble!_ He cursed her inside of his head. Of course, this time it wasn't _completely_ her fault. He was the one who decided to hang around and say hello. He was also the one who ran around town the last time she was in trouble. In actuality, he could have just left her alone. In fact, he could do it at that very moment if he wished. However, it honestly wasn't her fault.

Realizing that he had only one thing to do, he began walking down the street again. Careful not to wake up Amu, he slightly adjusted her so that she wouldn't fall off of his back. She shuffled a little, and his heart almost skipped a beat as he began to believe that he had disturbed her sleep. If she were to wake up, then he definitely had some abusive behavior coming his way.

"Papa?" A small mumble came from Amu.

Ikuto turned his head to look back at the feverish girl. He replied confusedly, "What?"

"Papa, where are we going?" Amu mumbled again.

_Is she delusional?_ Ikuto wondered in his head. Was she hallucinating because of her fever? He had no idea what he was supposed to do. Should he play along? Or should he try to bring her back to reality? He was so unsure of what to do, but Amu was probably expecting an answer.

"Home." Ikuto replied bluntly, although he had no idea how to get to her house.

"Are Ami and Mama okay?" Amu inquired.

His eyebrows furrowed together. She had never really said anything about having a mother, and who was Ami? Not knowing the answer to her question, he simply replied with the blatant truth, "I don't know."

She groaned in reply; Ikuto guessed that he gave her the wrong answer as she slightly adjusted herself on his back. In a whiney tone she complained, "I haven't seen Mama all day! I want my little sister and Mama now!"

Now it was Ikuto's turn to groan in reply. This was frustrating him. How was he supposed to know about anything about her family? He had never even laid eyes on her mother or father or little sister before! Heck, he didn't even know that she _had_ a little sister!

"Oi, I can't help it." He snapped back, a little ticked off. He was starting to lose his cool, something that Tsukiyomi Ikuto never did.

It was silent for a few moments, however Amu broke the silence. "Papa?"

"Yes?" He grimaced as he continued to walk down the dark streets of the city.

The next words were something that hit Tsukiyomi Ikuto right in the heart. Although the words were not directed straight to him, he still felt so moved by this single statement. Somehow his heart was searching for some secret meaning in the words that he heard as she spoke them. The fragile heart that appeared so strong was pounding once he heard those few words.

"I love you."

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**Tsukiyomi Ikuto has a fragile heart? Is there something more that Ikuto is looking for in Amu, or is he merely caught up in the moment? Find out in the next chapter of Washed Away with the Rain! Until next time!**

**Please Review!  
(I'm aiming for 100 reviews!)  
(Chapter Nineteen is closer than you think ;D)**


	20. Chapter 19

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Hey guys, it's Anya! I'm back with another chapter of Washed Away with the Rain! So, believe it or not, things are starting to wrap up with this fanfiction. There'll probably only be about 22-25 chapters so take it all in now. However there may be a sequel! Once the last chapter is posted, it may take awhile or the sequel may be canceled so any updates will be on my website (a link is on my profile page) so be sure to stay tuned once this is all out!

**Also, I've noticed that some people have been adding this to their story alerts, but haven't been reviewing. Really guys, if you're going to take the time to add it to your alerts then just go ahead and give a small review. A little "nice chapter, keep it up!" would do. So please be sure to review, it keeps me going! ^__^**

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Chapter Nineteen

"Papa, welcome home!" A small girl about four years of age leapt into the arms of her father who had just returned home from work. They both seemed so happy together.

The scene changed and now that same girl, about six or seven years old now, was sleeping on her father's back. Her father was carrying her through an amusement park late at night. It was only the two of them; the only people that surrounded them were obviously strangers. A groggy inquire came from the girl, "Papa, are Mama and Ami okay?"

The scene changed once again. Now that same little girl was lying against a wall crying her tears out while her father repeatedly cursed and kicked her. She screamed out, "I'm your daughter! I'm right here!"

"Stop it, Papa!"

My eyes shot open and I bolted upwards so I was sitting instead of lying down. Beads of sweat had formed on my forehead and I couldn't stop panting. Despite the sweat running down my face and the panting, my body began shivering. No, my body wasn't shivering, it was quaking. The sweat I thought to be running down my face was actually hot tears. Not caring who heard me I allowed myself to wail as loud as I could.

Before April fourteenth of this year, I never would have allowed myself to cry so much. I was crying a lot more than I had been before. The last time I cried this much was when I was six years old and I was getting past the large amount of tragedy God had put out on my plate. Even now I'm not so sure how my heart got so twisted that it could never bear to have a tear shed or to let anyone else in. Even as I sat there, bawling my eyes out, my heart was still acting stubborn. Every tear I let out I wanted to take back, and every time I wanted to reach out I decided to keep to myself. I just couldn't help it.

The door opened in a nonchalant way and a voice said, "Hey I heard you from the living—" There he was. Tsukiyomi Ikuto was standing in the door way in all his glory.

Although I couldn't remember a thing from the night before; and since I couldn't piece anything together I just decided not to care about it. All I wanted to do was stop the crying. However, the tears just continued to spill and spill. It was really hard to stop them.

He walked up to me silently and placed his hand on top of my head comfortingly. I felt that the tears just wouldn't stop. For some reason something about Ikuto just made me want to cry and forget about everything in the world. I had no idea why, either. I just couldn't get my head around it.

"It's okay." He told me in a quiet voice, as if he didn't know what to say.

However, those words just hit me. I always told myself that I couldn't cry and that it wasn't okay. However, why was it that when a complete stranger came around and told me that it was okay, that I began to think that it was okay? Why was it always Ikuto who made me realize that it was okay? I couldn't figure out what was going wrong with me; it was nerve-racking.

As if it were a secret password, after hearing those words I wrapped my arms around his waist. The tears continued to spill and I buried my face into his stomach. A hand softly stroked my hair while the other rubbed my back soothingly. Tears ran down my face, just begging to be freed after so long. I thought I had emptied myself of tears back in April, but apparently I was oh so wrong. Tears weren't so easily emptied.

My heart wanted to burst. Everything I had locked up in there wanted an out. They wanted to come out so badly that their escape began to seem vital to my heart. My heart finally cracked, and the emotions I had locked up inside of me burst out into the open. It was both relieving and disappointing. I was relieved that I could finally open up, but I was also disappointed that my heart was so easily swayed.

"I really miss him!" I wailed into Ikuto's stomach. "I never really said I hated him! He just scares me so much! I'm afraid he'll take everything away from me again! I don't want to lose anyone else! I just want to be happy! I just want my mom and my little sister and my dad! I just want to go home and tell them that I love them! But I can't do that! I can't do that!"

Words of similarity ran on and on for awhile. I would constantly repeat myself and just talk in circles. I also felt sorry for Ikuto; he had to stand there and process everything that I said. I made sure that I apologized to him several times as I cried; in fact, I apologized about twenty times if I remember correctly.

However, my heart felt so freed after crying and talking about my issues with Ikuto. Well, more like blabbering on and on about my father and my real feelings about him. Sure I covered up his face with a bunny sticker on my family portrait; however I never really said that I hated him. He just scared me. Back when I was six, he took away everything that I had left and I was always afraid that he would do it again. I really did miss my father; when he's sober he's one of the kindest people in the world. Yet after randomly showing up at my foster mother's house, which he had always known the location of but never visited, I was even more frightened. I may have yelled at him saying that I hated him, but I truly didn't hate him. In fact, all I ever did was worry about him when I got my head around it.

"You know," Ikuto began talking once my wailing had succumbed to mere hiccups. "My father disappeared when I was just a little kid."

I looked up at him, the tears streaked across my face were starting to dry up. I asked, "Really?"

He replied, "He did. So if you can still find your father, then you should take the chance to fix things. It's never too late."

"Ikuto, thank you…" I mumbled as I held onto him tightly. Thinking I might as well let everything out, I decided to say, "I feel like I can tell you anything."

There was no reply. Ikuto merely patted my head in return. I felt so safe with Ikuto, like I could say or do anything and he would accept it. My heart longed for this moment to never end, I just wanted to stay with Ikuto like this for the rest of eternity. If this were the end of the world, then I would be fine with just that. Nothing could make me happier than this.

"Do you think that things would be better if I spoke to him?" I decided to ask.

Ikuto seemed to be able to relate to my situation, so I decided to talk to him about it. When I was placed into my foster home with Ryuu, I had begun to attend therapy sessions. Everyone thought that it would be good for me to talk to somebody about my problems. However, I refused to talk to anyone about my issues. When I set eyes on the therapist, I knew that she didn't understand me. She was merely being paid to listen to me talk about my feelings; there was no guarantee that she would help me. I detested that. No one understood how I felt, and no one understood the pain I was feeling.

However, Ikuto was different. It felt like Ikuto understood what I was feeling. It felt like Ikuto could help me sort out what issues I had. He didn't even have to say anything, just speaking to him made me feel like my problems would be sorted out almost automatically.

"It doesn't matter what I think. It only matters what you think." He informed me. "Do you think that things will be better if you speak to him?"

I froze. If I were to talk to him, what would I expect? Would I expect everything to go back to normal between us? Would I expect him to just leave and never come back? What in the world did I expect for him to do?

"I…" I tried to think up an answer so I wouldn't leave Ikuto waiting. "I don't know…" I confessed in a hushed tone.

He asserted me, "It's okay not to know. What's important is that you need to talk to him when you're ready. And are you ready?"

My heartbeat quickened. The answer of what to do was so obvious, but was I really ready to do this? I had just emptied out my heart to Ikuto, and that in itself was a big step to becoming happy. However, was I ready to take another huge step? Heck, it wasn't just a step, but a leap. I was so confused; I had no idea what to do.

"I don't think I am…" I whispered.

"It's okay." He told me. Just like before, as if it were a secret password, I began to weep into his stomach again. This time I didn't try to hold back the tears; I just let them spill.

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**Aw, it looks like Amu's opening up! Isn't that just sweet? Is Amu going to wake up and realize that she unknowingly arrived at Ikuto's house, or will she just keep on crying? Find out in the next chapter of Washed Away with the Rain! Until next time!**

**Please Review!**  
**(I hope to get past 150 by the time this fanfiction is over)**

**P.S.  
My writer's block is starting to subside with this story.  
So hopefully chapter 20 will be out soon!  
Bye-bye~!**


	21. Chapter 20

**Hey guys, it's Anya! Sorry for the late update, but there has been a lot going on in my life lately. However, things are looking up so I hope to get Chapter 21 up within the next two weeks. Also, really quickly, I would also like to add that I have made a website with updates about my story. A link is on my profile page so be sure to check it out. That website will also be where news about a sequel for this story (I have decided to make one) will be once I'm done with this story. Unfortunately, this story only has about 3-5 more chapters so be sure to check out the site once this fanfiction is finished.**

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Chapter Twenty

The events from the previous night were still a complete blur. I have no idea how I came to be at Ikuto's house or how I started crying in front of him yet again. Normally I would be furious with him, but he had covered himself pretty well. Apparently last night, after I had fainted, he took me back to his place inconspicuously. He even took my cell phone and e-mailed Ryuu-san, who was coincidentally going out of town yet again the next day, saying that I would be spending the night at a friend's house and wouldn't be home until late the next day. Completely trusting me, Ryuu-san believed the story that Ikuto had told her.

He did well.

"I'll be home at about four, so I'll walk you home when I get back." Ikuto told me as he headed out the door for work.

"Why do I have to wait for you to get back?" I inquired. I babbled on, "I'm almost an adult; I can take care of myself. I don't need you looking out for me—"

"Amu," I could feel my cheeks glowing red, "I'm not letting you walk home alone after last night. Rest up." Ikuto informed me.

Hoping that he couldn't hear the quick beating of my heart, I said, "Whatever. Goodbye then."

"Later." He gave his farewell and left the house without another moment's hesitation.

I sat on his couch by myself, staring at the dormant television. My face was still red as could be and my heart was drumming. Why was I acting so strangely? I pulled in my legs close to me and buried my face into my knees. What was making me so flustered? Was it because he said my name? I shook my head violently. No, that could not be it! I was _not_ flustered over it!

Wanting to erase every thought in my head, I reluctantly turned on the television. That show that Ikuto had been watching the last time I had come over, Shugo Chara, was on. The show seemed somewhat interesting the last time I had seen it on, so I decided to sit down and watch the rest of the episode.

"…because no matter how many days are left until this park is closed, today is my beginning." The girl on the show, the same as the one I saw last time, spoke to a boy while spinning in a teacup at an amusement park. I grimaced ironically at the television screen; this was the exact opposite of what I wanted to see. Despite my distaste towards the scene, I decided to keep on watching it. It was bound to get better, right?

While watching the third episode of Shugo Chara, my eyelids became heavy from weariness. I suppose that despite sleeping for a long time last night, my body didn't rest too well. I could feel that my body didn't want to stay awake, but my mind wanted to stay alive and watch the rest of the show. However, as soon as a commercial for Yoplait yogurt came on the television, I could already feel that I was long gone into dreamland.

I slowly opened my eyes, but not completely. I could hear Ikuto speaking somewhere in the background. I looked down to see a blanket covering my body, probably put there by Ikuto. The gesture slightly warmed my heart. I shook my head back and forth again, not wanting to think about things like that! Instead I perked up my ears to hear what Ikuto was saying on the phone, curious to hear what he was talking about.

"Still no luck, eh?" I had to strain to hear him speaking. "Well I'll keep trying too. Thanks, Utau."

Utau? Who was Utau? I could hear the phone click shut, so I closed my eyes and began breathing deeply. Ikuto may not be coming into the room anytime soon, but I wanted to make sure that it looked as authentic as possible when he came in. Wait… why should I be pretending to be asleep? It's not like I did anything wrong. Sure, I _wanted_ to hear what Ikuto was saying on the phone, but that was only curiosity. So…why was I curious? I opened my eyes and sat up straight with fury; there was no reason why I should be hiding!

"So you're awake?"

Startled, I stood up and turned to see Ikuto standing at the end of the hallway. He was leaning against the wall with a slightly troubled look on his face. Most average people wouldn't notice it, seeing as how one would have to be pretty intuitive to catch it.

"Thanks for the blanket." I blurted out, not so sure what to say.

"So do you want me to walk you home?" Ikuto offered.

I had no idea what I should say. My heart wanted me to say "no," but my mind wanted me to say "yes." What was with me? Normally I would have one sure answer. I was never an indecisive person before this moment.

"Only if you want to." I finally answered after what seemed like hours to me, but only moments to him.

A smirk swept his face as he asked with a mischievous tone, "Do you not want to go?"

A blush crept its way across my cheeks as I answered, "T-that's not what I meant! I just didn't want you to go out of your way!"

His smirk only seemed to grow with my statement. My entire body felt like ice, despite the warmth on my cheeks. Did I just stutter? Hinamori Amu does _not_ stutter…_ever_! While I was devastated with it, Ikuto's confidence seemed to be rising through the roof with my little speech impediment.

"Sure, sure." Ikuto walked over to his kitchen without giving another glance at me. "So what do you want for dinner?"

Not wanting to give Ikuto the wrong idea, I retorted, "Who said I was staying?"

"So you want to go?" Ikuto looked over at me with that same smirk on his face.

"I…" I couldn't answer him. It's not like I wanted to stay, but I didn't want to go. I looked away from him and at the television set that Ikuto most likely turned off when he came home. I replied, "I don't care what we have for dinner."

"Got it." Ikuto replied with a smug tone, probably wearing the same smirk.

While staring at the television set I pulled in my legs to my body again and buried my face into my knees. I could hear Ikuto rummaging through his kitchen in the background, probably looking for something to cook. I, in fact, was starving. I hadn't eaten anything all day and had just slept for the majority of the day.

Since I had some time to myself, I began thinking. Why was I acting so flustered around Ikuto? I never blushed or stuttered around others. This behavior was strange, even for me. I may be smiling more since Kuukai became my friend, but my behavior had practically remained the same. Why were simple comments from Ikuto making me act so strangely?

"Get your shoes on." Ikuto told me.

I jumped a little at the sudden comment. I turned around to see Ikuto standing at the front door. Was he taking me home? "Where are we going?" I asked.

With the same smirk on his face, he informed me, "We're eating out."

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**It looks like Ikuto is taking Amu out for dinner. Will more than just an evening meal happen, or will it be just some boring dinner? Next time: chapter twenty-one, "Secrets Revealed." Until next time!**

**Please Review! *w***

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	22. Chapter 21

**Hey guys, it's Anya! I know I said that I wanted at least 40 reviews, then changed it to 20, but I got too excited about posting up this chapter to wait. I finished writing Washed Away with the Rain (a total of 23 chapters, plus an epliogue and the prologue) so I have a proposition for you all:**

**PLEASE READ: If I can get 30 reviews (which I know I can, within one day Chapter 20 got 73 visitors) then I will post up Chapter 22, Chapter 23, and the epliogue at the same time. This, I think, is better than asking for a large number of reviews per chapter leading up till the epilogue. Plus, the epilogue and Chapter 23 are both short, so it'll be a good deal in my opinion. So review! Review! Review! Please!**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

**And Remember 30 reviews = next three chapters.**

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Chapter Twenty-One

"Hello, I'm Mikuru; I'll be your server for this evening. So how would we like to start off the evening? Maybe with a beverage?" The waitress offered. She was a beautiful young lady, probably in her early twenties. She had long, red hair and sparkling emerald jewels for eyes. She seemed like she was from a different country, but her Japanese was perfect in every way, shape, and form.

"Milk tea will be fine for me." Ikuto replied politely. He looked over to me and called, "Amu?"

I looked down at the menu items for beverages. There were too many to decide on one. Plus, I didn't want to seem like a little kid in front of Ikuto. Wait… why did I care what he thought? "I'll have a melon soda, please."

The waitress nodded her head and left, of course not without giving Ikuto a good, long look. However, Ikuto seemed to be completely unaffected by her. She was beautiful, but Ikuto didn't seem to notice her at all. Though he didn't seem to notice her, I felt this sick feeling in my stomach. Automatically, without even knowing her, I detested her with a passion. I didn't even know her, but I still disliked her completely.

There was nothing but complete silence until Mikuru came back. "A milk tea for you and a melon soda." Although she spoke politely when she gave us our drinks, you could tell that she was trying to ignore me as much as possible without trying to be rude. Her eyes never met mine; they just stayed glued to Ikuto. "So what can I get you two to eat?"

"The curry rice is fine with me." Ikuto replied, using similar words as before. Once again he called my name, "Amu?"

I hadn't really picked up on it last time, but my heart always skipped a beat whenever he said my name. Once again I looked down at the menu, not really sure what I wanted. Feeling rushed, I told her, "I'll have curry rice, too."

After another long gaze at Ikuto, Mikuru left to go get our food. Ikuto stared out the window that was to our left, as if he weren't really paying attention. Was he? I sat in silence, with an occasional sip of my melon soda. Ikuto seemed to be thinking about something, so I tried not to break his train of thought. However…the silence was killing me.

I tried gathering my thoughts together, something that had seemed impossible that morning. Everything that day had just been so random and choppy that I didn't even want to think. Ever since my episode with Ikuto that morning I had been acting strangely. First there was the crying, then the stuttering, and even the blushing. Even when that pretty waitress came over here eying Ikuto I began acting weird. What was going on with me?

"What's wrong with you?" Ikuto inquired.

"Eh?" My mind went back into focus. Ikuto had his head resting in the palm of his hand and he was staring at me with an intense gaze. "What do you mean?" I wondered; had I really been so obvious?

"You seem out of it." He put it bluntly, speaking as if it were obvious.

I looked outside the window, my cheeks blushing. "It's nothing."

"It seems to be something." He told me. His eyes never seemed to leave me, not even when Mikuru came back with our curry.

As she served us our food, her eyes still never left Ikuto. She seemed to be really into him, and that made me really uncomfortable. However, I only glanced at her a few times. I continued to look out the window, while Ikuto continued to look at me, and Mikuru continued to gaze at Ikuto. It was basically a chain of continuous staring.

"Can I get you anything else?" Mikuru asked gleefully.

Ikuto replied, his eyes not looking away from me, "We're fine, thanks."

I gave her a quick glance, she seemed to be disappointed as she said, "Okay, well call me if you need anything." The sadness was written across her face.

We both sat in the same position for awhile, until Ikuto began to spoon the curry into his mouth. I hesitated to eat as well, but I didn't want the curry to get cold. Avoiding as much eye contact with Ikuto as possible, I ate my curry. It was hard not to look at him, especially since his eyes were glued to me. It made me want to spill out my feelings, but I knew that I couldn't do that. It wasn't right for a thirteen year old to be—

My appetite was immediately lost. What was I just about to say? It wasn't right for a thirteen year old to be what? What was I going to say? I almost had it, but I completely lost it.

"Are you jealous of the waitress?" Ikuto asked. I felt a pang in my stomach. Was that what I had been feeling? Was I jealous? Is that why I disliked Mikuru so much? "I'm not interested in her, don't worry."

Deciding to venture into his mind a little, I decided to say, "I'm not jealous. But why would it matter to you if I _were_ jealous?"

"I like to make dinner as enjoyable as possible." Ikuto responded with ease. "If you're jealous then you'll lose your appetite."

I grimaced slightly. Was this dinner or a game of battle ship? If it were, then my ship had just been sunk. Had I just lost my appetite because I was jealous of Mikuru? Why would I have any reason to be jealous? The only reason Mikuru was so pretty was because she was foreign and older than I was. So why was I so jealous? The only people who get jealous are idiots and people in—

I dropped my spoon immediately. "What's wrong?" Ikuto asked.

"N-nothing, it's nothing." I stuttered. I wiped my mouth with a napkin while getting up and said, "I need some air."

I walked straight out of the restaurant, not wanting to run into Mikuru on my way out. Ikuto may have said something while I had been exiting, but it didn't even matter. All I needed was some fresh air. My heart was pounding and my mind was racing with different thoughts. Somehow I ended up in the alleyway next to the restaurant, figuring that no one would see me panic in there.

"No way…" I sat against the wall of the restaurant and began breathing deeply. "I can't believe it…" I panted. Somehow my realization was exhausting me.

The reason why I had been able to cry so easily in front of Ikuto was so simple. The reason why I blushed and stuttered was pretty easy to figure out, too. There was nothing complicated about it. Well, maybe a tad complicated, but I still knew the reasons behind everything I was feeling. All of these emotions: the jealousy, the confusion, and the longing all led to one thing.

I loved Tsukiyomi Ikuto.

"What's wrong with you?" I heard the husky voice of Ikuto coming from the entrance of the alleyway.

I looked over at him. Now that I knew how I felt about him, I felt so… ridiculous. I blushed immediately, afraid that Ikuto would hear my racing thoughts and pounding heart. He walked up and kneeled beside me, his face really close to mine.

My heart wanted me to scream out my feelings. "I love Tsukiyomi Ikuto!" is what my heart wanted to say. However, I knew that I wouldn't be able to convey it to him so easily. So, I did what any girl would do. I wanted to figure out if he had any feelings for me. Sure, there was a five year age difference, but did that really matter?

"When I cry will you be there to wipe my tears?" I asked him while staring at the wall in front of me.

He cocked his head to the side and asked, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Answer the question." I told him.

After a moment's hesitation, he replied, "Yes."

"When I need you to save me, will you be there?" I inquired.

"Yes." He replied.

My next question was the hardest to ask. The other actions would be something that a friend would do, but this next one meant a lot more. I asked him, "If I need you to hold my hand, will you?"

"I will." He told me.

"Ikuto…" I looked straight into his eyes. His eyes were completely still, but it was average of Ikuto. "In the three previous encounters I've had with you, somehow without even knowing it…" I babbled on, wanting to buy myself some time. "Somehow, despite the age difference and the fact that I only know your name and age…" I wanted to say it, but my heart was afraid of being hurt again.

_"Your heart was broken, so you decide to shut everyone out. It's not fair to those who want to get close to you."_

Kuukai's words echoed in my head. However, how did I know if Ikuto even wanted to get close to me in the first place?

_"Well you haven't spoken to anybody, so you wouldn't know."_

Another Kuukai quote rang in my head. If I don't tell Ikuto how I feel, then I'll live my life never knowing. I had to tell Ikuto my exact feelings, the feelings that I had just realized myself.

The suspense was killing me on the inside. My heart was bursting with vulnerability as I blurted out, "I love you."

Not wanting to hear his reply just yet, I crashed my lips against his for a kiss. If he didn't love me back, then at least I got my kiss. Besides, he stole my first kiss from me. At last I finally got to steal it back. If he loved me, then we would be happy together. If he didn't love me, then at least I got my kiss.

I had my eyes closed shut. I was completely nervous as to how he would reply. Would he break away? My fears were diminished as he leaned in more, kissing me back. My heart fluttered, butterflies were roaring in my stomach, and my entire body felt numb.

This was love.

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**Aw, Amu finally confessed! Now what will Amu and Ikuto do, since Amu has confessed her feelings? Find out in chapter 22: A Sealed Promise. Until next time!**

**30 reviews = 3 chapters**

**So Please Review!**

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	23. Chapter 22

**Hey guys, it's Anya! Thanks a ton for the 30 reviews, it really means a lot! ^__^**

**Well, since the anticipation is high (from what I've read in your reviews I can tell) I'll leave you with this chapter. Enjoy!**

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Chapter Twenty-Two

Breathing seemed impossible for me. The kiss was so amazing that I didn't want to break it. Unfortunately, Ikuto pulled away. I got to catch my breath; however I didn't want the kiss to end. I wanted it to last forever. Though the fluttery feeling in my heart and the roaring butterflies in my stomach were still there, it was better when my lips were pressed against his, his silky, soft lips that seemed to mend perfectly together with mine.

He kissed my forehead, causing the butterflies to go in an uproar. He told me, "I love you too, Amu."

The act seemed so out-of-character for him, but wasn't that the point of love? Wasn't love supposed to bring out the cheeky, head-over-heels, lovey dovey parts of everyone? Even Ikuto had those parts to him, right?

I sat there watching him, my face was burning hot. What were we supposed to do know? In the few dramas I've watched, they always switch scenes after the major kiss. So what were we supposed to do now?

Ikuto stood up and looked towards the entrance of the alleyway. Even he seemed to find this a little awkward. I looked up at him with large, curious eyes. Were we a couple now? As happy as that would make me, nothing seemed to be official.

"Well, I should probably walk you home…" He informed me.

He put out his hand to help me up. I gladly took it, but once I was up he didn't let go. He began walking, my loose hand held in his. With a warm smile on my face, I squeezed it back. His hands were so warm and comforting. It made me feel safe and secure. The entire action of us holding hands not only warmed my hand, but my heart as well.

The sky was still light, seeing as how it was only about six in the evening. However, the mid-tint blue of the sky and the crisp summer air was so relaxing. People walking on the streets didn't even seem to notice Ikuto and me as we walked through the city. Thankfully we walked slowly; I wanted this moment to last for a long time.

I was sad that our kiss had ended, but holding hands was also nice. Everything in the world just seemed to melt away. The only thing that mattered to me was Ikuto. Kuukai, the student council, Ryuu-san, and even my father seemed so unimportant. I only wanted to be with Ikuto, that's all my heart wanted. Nothing else could make me as happy as this.

When we finally reached the gate to my house I was saddened. I didn't want Ikuto to leave me just yet. Ryuu-san was out of town for the next four days—she wouldn't tell me why—so I had the entire house to myself. My next statement would take a lot more guts than confessing my feelings to Ikuto.

"So I suppose I'll leave you here?" Ikuto asked; his grip on my hand was loosening.

I squeezed his hand tighter and blurted out, "Ryuu-san is supposed to be out of town for the next few days!" He raised an eyebrow at my comment. I asked, "Do you want to come inside?"

He smirked and asked me, "Did you realize that you just asked a grown man to come into your house?"

My face was burning red as I replied, "Yes…"

His smirk continued to grow as he said, "You never know what a grown man could do."

I was at a loss for words. I knew that Ikuto would never put me in any danger. If he truly loved me, then he wouldn't dare put me in harm's way. Although, my father loved me and he still… no! This was Ikuto! He is _not_ my father!

"Please?" I begged him.

The smirk on his face was replaced with a smile as he replied, "Fine."

I opened the gate and led him into the house. As I unlocked the door with an unsteady hand, I hoped that he wouldn't notice my nervousness. I walked him into my house, dark and vacant. Normally I would immediately turn on a light, but for some reason my head just wasn't working right that night.

As the light turned on I jumped, was Ryuu-san still here? I turned to see it was Ikuto who had flipped the switch. He smirked at me, and that was all I needed to look away from him. Ever since my realization and confession, I found myself getting easily embarrassed by him.

"So will your father come back tonight?" He inquired.

As he said that, I remembered the last time Ikuto had been at my home. My father had been there, pounding on my bedroom door. After tackling him, Ikuto carried him on his back to the nearest park bench on our way to his house. It was a heroic act, and I was surprised that I had already forgotten about it. So much has happened since then.

I told him, "No. My father doesn't even live here; he lives in Tokyo. I have no idea why he came here to Kawasaki that night."

Ikuto raised an eyebrow, "You really don't like him, do you?"

My heart sunk; I hated talking about my father. "Not one bit."

Ikuto inquired as we walked over to the kitchen table, "Why's that?"

He sat down in a chair and pulled out on next to him. I sat down beside him while explaining, "Remember that day seven years ago when I met you?" He nodded his head in reply. I continued, "Well that day was when my little sister, Ami, was supposed to be born. That day both my mother and little sister died during the birth. Afterwards my father came home drunk one night and broke my arm and leg, and gave me a concussion." Ikuto seemed shocked at my story. I finished it with, "He was so weak. It was like the bond we had meant nothing to him."

"I see…" Ikuto's reply seemed so meaningful, despite only being two words. As if he now understood why I acted the way I did. Honestly, the story was pretty self-explanatory.

We sat in silence. I felt guilty for ruining the mood we had. We had both been so happy before, but now we were in complete silence. It seemed like Ikuto wanted to say something—I could tell from the look in his eyes—so I decided to stay silent.

He finally said, "My father left me about eleven years ago."

My mouth fell open. I told him, "I'm sorry."

He explained, "There was pressure on him from my mother's father. He wanted my father to take over his business. My father didn't want that kind of life, so he ran away, leaving me and my sister behind."

There was nothing but silence. I was utterly speechless yet again. What was I supposed to say to him? I mean…what was there to say? Our situations were so different, yet the same. Was I supposed to just say, "I know how you feel," despite the fact that the words didn't seem to satisfy it enough.

"Ikuto," I said his name and it felt so nice to finally say it with confidence. He looked into my eyes with a forlorn look. I told him, "I will never _ever_ abandon you. I'll always be here for you."

Ikuto stared into my eyes. He promised, "I promise that I'll never break your bones or give you a concussion."

"Ikuto…" I grimaced at him.

He chortled, "Sorry, I meant that I'll never leave you."

I gave him a serious stare. I asked, "Promise?"

He smiled at me. He had such a killer smile when it was sincere. "I promise."

And we sealed the deal with a kiss.

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**Amu and Ikuto promised to stay together and never leave each other. Will this promise always remain? Figure out in Chapter 23, "Fukuoka." Until next time!**

**Please Review!**

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	24. Chapter 23

**Hey guys, it's Anya! This is the last official chapter of Washed Away with the Rain. I'll get more into detail about everything --including the sequel-- after the epilogue.**

**So enjoy!**

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Chapter Twenty-Three

Life could never be better. My boyfriend and I—I mean Ikuto and I—were absolutely happy together. It had been about a week since my confession. My life was looking up for once. Love was something that I no longer feared. Affection was no longer something I detested, but something I longed for. Who knew that one man could change that all in a week?

When Ryuu-san came back from her trip, I told her about me and Ikuto. At first she was really angry, but she accepted us. As long as Ikuto treated me with love and respect, she decided that us being together was nothing wrong. I think that the only reason she let me be with Ikuto was because I began smiling. I had every reason in the world to smile, so why shouldn't I?

"Ryuu-san, I'm off to see Ikuto! I'll be back later, okay?" I told Ryuu-san with a big smile on my face.

"Don't be home too late." Ryuu-san told me.

"Don't worry; I'll be home for dinner." I told her. "Bye-bye!"

I left through the front door, feeling light as a feather. I felt even happier when I saw Ikuto standing at the gate. Every time we saw each other, smiles would break onto our faces. However, Ikuto's smile seemed to be slightly delayed that morning.

When I walked up to him I asked, "Ikuto, what's wrong?"

He looked at me with a sorrowful smile and said, "It's nothing. Ready to go?"

I beamed, "Of course!"

He took my hand and we walked into town. Our day was spent happily. We walked around the town and spent the day doing whatever it was that I wanted. Normally Ikuto would throw in a few things that he wanted to do too, but today it was all about me. As we made our way to a café, my suspicions grew. Ikuto never acted like this. Our relationship was all about balance, so why was it leaning more towards me today?

When we walked into the café, I took a seat at a table next to a window. Ikuto went to get us our drinks. The line seemed pretty long, but he insisted on waiting in it while I sat down. I stared out the window, wondering what was wrong with him. He was acting so strangely. Even though we had only been going out a week, we were already in sync with one another.

Ikuto walked up to the table with a chocolate frappuccino in one hand and a coffee in the other. He handed me my frappuccino and took a seat across from me. Without even saying anything he stared out the window while I stared at him. We both took occasional sips of our drinks, until they were both about halfway finished.

"Amu-chan," He began. I knew something was wrong. Ikuto never called me Amu-chan, he only called me Amu. He even told me that he hated using honorifics, that it was just a waste of time. "My sister and I found the location of our father."

My heart leapt with joy. "That's great, Ikuto!"

He looked at me straight in the eye and frowned. He told me, "My father's down south in Fukuoka. I'll be leaving tomorrow to go meet with him."

"I'm so happy for you!" I was beaming. And here I thought something was wrong! "So when are you getting back?"

Ikuto's frown grew larger. My heart almost stopped beating. Was he going to say what I thought he was going to say?

"You are coming back, aren't you?" I inquired.

He said, "I'm sorry, Amu…"

"You said that you'd never leave me!" I snapped at him. My heart was burning with anger. He couldn't be leaving me! "You promised!"

He told me, "I need to find my father. I highly doubt that he'll come back if I just ask him to. I want to spend some time with him. It may take a year, or maybe two. I just need to make up for the past ten years."

Tears were trying to fight their way out, but I held them back. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I looked at Ikuto with understanding eyes. His father left him because of the pressure of his father-in-law, and Ikuto never said that he hated his father. Maybe the little boy inside of Ikuto really missed his father. That I could understand, despite the fact that I hated my father.

"If you feel that it's necessary, then I'll wait." I told him.

He looked up at me, he seemed completely baffled. I don't know what he was expecting from me, but I only knew that I wanted Ikuto to be happy. I couldn't be selfish and ask him to stay and not go find his long lost father. All I needed to know was that Ikuto was happy. I could never fill the gap left from his father leaving. If it took one or two years for that gap to be filled, then I would wait.

"Ikuto-kun," I used an honorific to make sure he was paying attention. "I love you more than anything. If it takes one, two, or even _three_ years for you to come back, then I'll wait for you."

"Amu…" He whispered my name.

I leaned over the table, careful not to spill the coffee, and kissed him. I looked at him and said, "But if you don't come back eventually, I'll go down to Fukuoka and assassinate you myself."

Ikuto gave me one of the warmest smiles I have ever seen. "I love you, Amu."

I gave him another kiss and replied with a smile on my face, "I know."

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**Please Review!**

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	25. Epilogue

**Hey guys, it's Anya! Sorry the epilogue's so short. The Epilogue was part of chapter 23, but it just didn't seem to fit when I was reading it over. So enjoy!**

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Epilogue

That was the second-to-last time I saw Tsukiyomi Ikuto. The next time I saw him was at the airport when he was departing for Fukuoka the next day. I got to meet his sister, Utau. It turns out that the famous Hoshina Utau used a stage name. Her legitimate name was Tsukiyomi Utau. I finally got to meet the girl that dumped Kuukai. She seemed really cold, but I'm sure that she was just like her brother: cold on the outside but warm underneath.

I was sad that Ikuto would be leaving me for however long it took for him to fill the gap that his father left. I assumed one year minimum, two years maximum. However, if it took longer, I would still wait. It was going to be hard, but I was positive that we would pull through somehow. As some type of compensation, he promised to e-mail me at least twice a week, keeping me updated on his life.

I don't know how long it will take for Ikuto to get back. Nor do I know if we'll still be a couple by the time he gets back. I don't even know if he'll be happy meeting with his father. But despite all of the unknowns in our relationship, I know at least one thing. And that one thing will keep our relationship alive. I'm not afraid to admit it, either.

I love Tsukiyomi Ikuto.

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**PLEASE READ!**

**Before I get into future news about Washed Away with the Rain, I just wanted to add in some sappy tid-bit. I really enjoyed writing this story. It's the first story I've ever finished, including my original fiction, and I just had a blast writing it. I thank everyone for being so supportive and reading this story. It was definitely a hit and I really do appreciate the reviews I have been getting. This story is by far my biggest hit. I know that I wasn't always the best with releasing chapters, but it took a little over 4 months to finish this story which, in my opinion, is pretty damned spiffy.**

**So, I have been thinking about writing a sequel. News about the sequel will be put up onto my website (a link can be found on my webpage) all of the details will be there. So please visit the website if you want to know anything about the sequel. Thank you very much, and I will see you all soon! Until next time!**


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